wendy buckley - carbon footprint north hants 05.05.2011
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Environmental Labelling – What is it and why it matters to You
Dr Wendy Buckley Director
Carbon Footprint Ltd
“Just a load of Greenwash?”
Green claims in advertising have tripled between 2006 and 2008Most claims in print media, 68%
Specifically broadsheets ; targeting ‘up market influencers’
Three dominant sectors making green claims Automotive
EnergyPublic sector
61% of green claims relate to the promotion of a specific product or service37% focus on environmental message alone; 63% use a green message in combination with an additional benefit
“green & cost” and “green & performance”
Only 13% of ‘green’ adverts identify a third party organisation supporting the claim being made.
New DEFRA Green Claims Code & ASA remit puts advertising under the spotlight more than ever
Renault were pulled up by ASAThe ASA demanded Renault withdrew
the ad because it exaggerated environmental benefits. The Twingo is
in the third-highest category for vehicle excise duty which ranks cars by their emissions, and it isn’t included in the
Department for Transport’s selection of top 10 low-CO2 cars. Renault was also
told that because the ad failed to explain the criteria for cars to be
included in its Eco2 scheme, it had “breached the code of conduct over
substantiation, truthfulness and environmental claims”.
© Carbon Footprint Ltd 2011Cutting Carbon – Delivering Valuewww.carbonfootprint.com
... There are over a hundred different labels around...
Environmental Labelling... What is it and why it matters to You
What they are - the market & driversWhy they are relevant to You
Which ones to go for – how much does it cost ?
How to ‘extract value’ from environmental labels
Do’s and Don’tsWhat lies ahead
There is a multitude of different regulated and unregulated labels...
Different product & service linesDifferent industry sectors
Different countries
Government / EU ‘accredited’‘Self certified’
Just because it doesn’t have government backing doesn’t mean it’s no good
...Because there is growing consumer demand & regulation
Business to ConsumerMore than £2 billion worth of goods bearing carbon labels have now been sold in the UK,
Business to Business£1billion of sales of carbon-labelled goods came
from the business-to-business sector.
Regulatory pressure
Centre for Retail Research estimates that sales of carbon-labelled goods could double by the
end of 2012 and reach £15bn by 2015.
Environmental labels help you to manage a Sustainable Business
PurchasingDo your suppliers operate ISO14001 Environmental Management
SystemDo they disclose their Carbon Footprint / are they Carbon Neutral
Can their products be recycledWhat are the products’ energy ratings ?
OperatingEnvironmental Management Systems - drive down impact & save
you costs
Marketing, Selling & Managing your BrandsSupplier pre-selection based on your on-line credentials
Make sure you are invited to tender
SMEs are quicker to adapt and can often develop environmental credentials faster than corporates – leading
to sales tender success
ISO14001 can help you to be an environmental business
What’s in itEnvironmental policy
Environmental action planEnvironmental Aspects register
Legislation registerCommunications log
Roles &responsibilities logRecords log
AuditEase & timing
3-6 months typical time to get certified3-4 man weeks effort
Easier if you already have ISO9001Return on Investment
Cost savings x10 Sales benefits x100
When considering investing in labels think about
Needs of your key clientsTarget Market
Sales potential of the labelStandards, credibility and reputation
of the labelPotential costs of applying &
maintaining statusRules of the schemes
So which one is for my business & how much does it cost ?
Prioritise your market need to manage costs , ease & resource. Some SME funding may be available.
Carbon Label - Business from about £250 paSoil Association Organic £450-£600 pa'Carbon Neutral' from about £1000 paFSC £1000 set up
£800 paISO14001 set up £2000-£4000
ongoing £1000 paFairtrade 1.7% of sales to £5M
e.g. £8500 on £500k
How to Extract Value from your labels
Make them central to your Marketing Look beyond your traditional target marketsEnsure your labels appear on all ‘collateral’
Sales proposalsRecruitment &HR
On-line and Off-line
Communicate itPress & Social Media
Sales teams , distributors & agentsColleagues
Win awardsE.g. Sustainable Business Partnership
In the future we’ll have ....
More pressure to be sustainable Carbon reporting & taxing
More ‘Harmonised’ labelsMore on-line / software tools to help us DIY
Incentives to assist us invest
Do
Follow the new DEFRA Green Claims guidelineshttp://bit.ly/GreenClaims
Develop independently verified credentialsBe sure they are accurate
Get a third party stamp of approval
Be a environmental supply chain heroSelect your suppliers via their environmental credentials - you’ll enhance
your offerings
‘Live the Labels’
Don't
Make up your own labels – make claims you can’t substantiate
Assume your clients understand your efforts Miss the Environmental opportunity / Think the
regulations will ‘just go away’
