Carbon footprint eco-label would provide best guidance to consumers

Climate labels can enhance the dissemination of information that helps consumers to choose low-pollution products. A label that shows the carbon footprint would be the most exact, but its development process has plenty of challenges, says the report compiled by the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE).

Many consumers consider that the lack of practical guidelines and insufficiency of knowledge preclude them from action against climate change. Information may be shattered or badly available. It may also be outdated or vaguely understood.

The SYKE report assesses the strengths and weaknesses of various labels and says the label that reports on the carbon footprint of the product is the most exact.

It traces the greenhouse gas emissions of each product marked in the label from the entire life cycle of the products - starting from the use of natural resources to waste management and recycling.

However, the development process has plenty of challenges. According to the report, the biggest problem is the absence of detailed product-group-specific rules for the life cycle inventories of the greenhouse gas emissions.

International cooperation needed

Because production chains are global, international standards and climate label systems are necessary. Several EU countries are interested in carbon footprint labelling and Great Britain has some hands-on experience already.

In Finland, Tekes - the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation launched in spring 2008 a project that aims, in cooperation with researchers and business and industry, at providing households and retailers with suitable methods for counting carbon footprints and rewarding climate-friendly choices.

The writers of the report suggest that Finland should take initiative and participate actively in the international development of carbon footprint and other climate labels and in the generation of necessary standards and information systems.

The report on the use of climate labels on products was published by the Prime Minister's Office. It serves as a background report to the Government foresight report on climate and energy policy.