Eco-label scheme extended to food and drink products

Tag : Food And Drink
The extension of the Eco-label scheme to include a broader range of products and services is oneof several objectives in a package put forward by the Commission on Wednesday to, it claims, improve the environmental performanceand energy efficiency of products as well as boost their sales.

Manufacturers must meet EU rules on the environmental impact oftheir products in order to be able to use the label and eachproduct group is set specific conditions it has to adhere to.

No criteria

However, an official for the Commission's Directorate-General (DG)Environment told FoodProductionDaily.com that no criteria currentlyexists to enable food and drink processors apply for the Eco-Labelon their products, and that this new Regulation only opens the doorto the possibility.

He said that it would be up to 18 months before the Regulationcomes into force.

Scheme revision

The Eco-label initiative began in 1992 as a way of stimulatingmanufacturers to reduce the enviromental impact of their productsand act as a benchmark for good enviromental practice but it hasbeen criticised as being overly bureaucratic.

According to the official, the proposed revision of the Eco-labelscheme will mean the procedure for gaining the environmentallyfriendly status will be simplified and manufacturers will no longerbe charged application fees, which previously amounted to apercentage of their Eco-label product sales.

He added that the DG Environment will target consumers with acampaign in the coming months to increase awareness of what thelabel stands for.

"In terms of our impact on the planet we are living far beyond ourmeans. Our actions as consumers and producers worldwide are majorforces behind climate change and the destruction of nature. Thetime has come for us to change the type of products we buy andtransform our methods of production," said Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas.

Consumers will pay more

Meanwhile, research group Eurobarometer, in a survey conducted inMarch for the European Commission, found that European consumerswill generally consider paying more for environmentally friendlymanufactured products.

The findings highlight the improved potential for food and drinkprocessors of adapting to greener processing without burdeningthemselves with additional costs.

The study shows that 75 per cent of respondents would at leastconsider purchasing environmentally friendly products, with onlyone fifth of the survey group refusing to change their buyinghabits completely.

Out of the 75 per cent group of eco-concerned consumers, only 15per cent of the number was already found to be buyingenvironmentally friendly products, having made such a purchasewithin the space of a month of taking the survey.

To ensure that consumers were trading up for environmental goods labelling schemes and education would be required to maximize interest,Eurobarometer said.