Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 8.4
Blue Angel ecolabel.
in different sectors, helping to reduce costs of certification for companies whose
products may cross a range of sectors and avoiding confusion among consumers.
There are however a number of well-established ecolabels that have been
developed by individual EU Member States. This includes the Blue Angel
(Blauer Engel) Ecolabel, one of the first and most well-known ecolabels, cover-
ing over 10,000 products and services in 80 product categories. Surveys by the
Federal Environment Agency of awareness of the Blue Angel ecolabel showed
widespread recognition of the label in Germany, with 39% of consumers basing
purchasing decisions on it [15] (Figure 8.4). The Blue Angel Label works by
providing more specific information to the consumer. The text wrapped round
the circular central image provides an indication of the main environmental
properties of the product, relevant to the sector of use, while the text below the
circular emblem provides a description of the protection goal of the positive
environmental attribute of the product.
The value of such labelling will no doubt continue to raise as awareness and
understanding of such schemes increases and as consumer environmental concerns
increasingly affect their purchasing decisions. The development of energy
efficiency ratings on electrical appliances and labelling of food in relation to its
fat, salt and sugar content are all indicative of how the consumer is being educated
in their purchasing decision to make more informed choices.
The chemicals industry is broad and complex, covering markets ranging from
niche to commodity scale, meaning it is difficult to develop overarching schemes
to promote renewable chemicals by themselves. It is more likely that development
will be encouraged through individual sector developments. In the absence of any
overarching policy driver to promote the development of biobased chemicals and
