Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) stipulates three types of
environmental claims: Type I, Type II, and Type III, which are described in the standards
14024:1999; 14021:1999; and 14025:2006, respectively. For a Type I claim, a third-party organi-
zation verifies that the environmental claims of a product are authentic and validates the authentic-
ity with a seal of approval. Type II claims are self-declared. ISO 14021:1999 contains guidelines
for Type II claims that are made by producers of goods or services without the intervention of a
third party. The newest addition, 14025:2006, establishes principles for the creation of Type III
environmental labels and declarations based on the life cycle assessment of products or services.
Environmental labeling
The purpose of environmental labels is to inform consumers about environmental qualities of
products or services that otherwise are not obvious. When done right, environmental labeling
creates a competitive advantage in relation to alternative products offered by competitors.
There are many labeling programs around the world, with most countries having government
programs or government sponsored programs. The United States is the exception because it
has no government labeling program (EPA, 1998).
In a broad sense, environmental labeling can be divided into two groups: first-party labels
and third-party verified labels. A first-party environmental claim is equivalent to what ISO
calls a Type II claim, in which the claim relies only on self-declaration and it is not verified by
an independent third-party entity. First-party environmental labeling programs can be specific
to a product (Fig. 7.1) or extended to corporate practices. First-party product-related claims
can be done directly on the product packaging or included in advertisement. For instance, the
addition of the recycling symbol to the packaging is a first-party claim. Corporate-related
claims are marketing approaches to show commitment to environmental causes; for instance,
by supporting environmental organizations, supporting environmental events, or developing
corporate events that reinforce the pledge to the environment (EPA, 1998). The risk of first-
party claims is that they are unverified by an independent auditor and therefore less trusted by
consumers and more prone to be taken as greenwash (UNOPS, 2009).
Third-party environmental labels are labels controlled by an outside entity, which can be a
private organization or a governmental office, and may be done on a voluntary basis or man-
dated by a government or other institutions (Weber-Marin and Tobler, 2003). For instance,
buyers may demand suppliers to have their products certified by a third-party entity, and by
doing so, a seal of approval can be displayed on the products. Another case of mandatory labels
is when there is a hazard involved in the use or transportation of a product. A typical example
is the warning information required by the U.S. Department of Transportation during the inter-
state transporting of explosives, flammables, radioactive materials, and pathogens (EPA, 1998).
Information disclosure labels are mandatory in many countries and based on the fact that “con-
sumers have the right to know” (EPA, 1998). In the United States, a nonenvironmental example
of disclosure label is the nutritional facts that are mandated on processed foods. Two mandatory
environmental disclosure information required in the United States are fuel economy information
on new vehicles and energy consumption in some household appliances (EPA, 1998).
Types of voluntary environmental labeling
There are three basic types of voluntary environmental labels some self-declared and others
awarded by independent certifying agencies. They are seal-of-approval, single-attribute certi-
fication, and report cards (EPA, 1998). The main advantages of obtaining a third-party certifi-
cation are objectivity and transparency.
