What is environmental labelling?
Today, nothing visually distinguishes an eco-designed cabinet from one with a high environmental impact. Ecolabels do exist (NF Environnement, European Ecolabel), but they only identify the best products in a market segment (no more than 20%). To help consumers make the right choices and limit greenwashing, public authorities are encouraging the use of a new form of eco-labeling: environmental labelling.
Displaying a single assessment, summarized in the form of a score, this label aims to encourage more responsible consumption, by making it easier to compare products. The fruit of a voluntary approach, environmental labelling also encourages producers and distributors to stand out from the competition by communicating the environmental performance of their products and promoting their eco-design efforts. The 2015 ecological transition law for green growth reaffirmed the principle. The government details the process here. In 2020, the law on the fight against waste and the circular economy consolidated environmental labelling as a voluntary approach, providing for an 18-month experiment in several pilot sectors:
- apparel
- furnishings
- hotels
- electrical and electronic products.
A multi-criteria ecological score
In concrete terms, environmental labelling takes the form of a logo featuring a blue planet, accompanied by the wording “Environmental impact” and a grade of A, B, C, D or E. Easily identifiable, it offers consumers reliable, objective and comparable information. The rating is similar to that of Nutriscore for food and the energy label for household appliances or property advertisements.
The rating system follows a precise methodology. The score awarded is a summary of the product’s main environmental impacts, calculated over its entire life cycle (LCA), from raw material extraction to distribution, use and disposal. Some of these indicators (in their simplified form) can accompany the logo and clarify the rating. Only climate impact is taken into account for all categories. It corresponds to greenhouse gas emissions, expressed in eqCO2. Other environmental criteria are specific to the product or service category concerned. In addition to carbon footprint, a hotel’s score, for example, takes into account water consumption, energy resource depletion and the use of organic and eco-labeled products (particularly for breakfast).
Proof of the popularity of these approaches, several private players have developed their own environmental labelling methodologies. This is notably the case for cosmetics brand Pierre Fabre, which developed the Green Impact Index and submitted it to AFNOR Certification for verification of its robustness and credibility.
Have your calculation methodology checked
At the launch of the environmental display, ADEME designated AFNOR Certification as the reference organization for anyone needing to have their calculation methodology verified. AFNOR Certification has thus accumulated valuable experience to help marketers consolidate their label claims and make them even more credible. This know-how will come in handy today for :
- prepare for an ESG (environment, social, governance) index with Responsibility Europe, based on a label inspired by ISO 26000
- Have your carbon data verified: GHG emissions balance, regulatory emissions declarations (ETS, MACF, Battery Regulation, etc.).
