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Eco-label
Ecolabels (also "eco-Labels") and Green Stickers are labeling systems for food and consumer products. The use of ecolabels is voluntary, whereas green stickers are mandated by law; for example, in North America major appliances and automobiles use Energy Star. There are currently 456 eco-labels in 199 countries, across 25 industry sectors according Ecolabel Index, the largest global directory of eco-labels. They are a form of sustainability measurement directed at consumers, intended to make it easy to take environmental concerns into account when shopping. Some labels quantify pollution or energy consumption by way of index scores or units of measurement, while others assert compliance with a set of practices or minimum requirements for sustainability or reduction of harm to the environment. Many ecolabels are focused on minimising the negative ecological impacts of primary production or resource extraction in a given sector or commodity through a set of good practices that are c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greenwash
Greenwashing (a compound word modeled on "Whitewash (censorship), whitewash"), also called green sheen, is a form of advertising or marketing spin that deceptively uses green PR and green marketing to persuade the public that an organization's products, goals, or policies are environmentally friendly. Companies that intentionally adopt greenwashing communication strategies often do so to distance themselves from their environmental lapses or those of their suppliers. Firms engage in greenwashing for two primary reasons: to appear legitimate and to project an image of environmental responsibility to the public. Because there "is no harmonised definition of greenwashing", a determination that this is occurring in a given instance may be subjective. Greenwashing occurs when an organization spends significantly more resources on "green" advertising than on environmentally sound practices. Many corporations use greenwashing to improve public opinion of their brands. Complex corpor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainability
Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): environmental, economic, and social. Many definitions emphasize the environmental dimension. This can include addressing key environmental problems, including climate change and biodiversity loss. The idea of sustainability can guide decisions at the global, national, organizational, and individual levels. A related concept is that of sustainable development, and the terms are often used to mean the same thing. UNESCO distinguishes the two like this: "''Sustainability'' is often thought of as a long-term goal (i.e. a more sustainable world), while ''sustainable development'' refers to the many processes and pathways to achieve it." Details around the economic dimension of sustainability are controversial. Scholars have discussed this under ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainability Standards And Certification
Sustainability standards and certifications are voluntary guidelines used by producers, manufacturers, traders, retailers, and service providers to demonstrate their commitment to good environmental, social, ethical, and food safety practices. There are over 400 such standards across the world. The trend started in the late 1980s and 1990s with the introduction of Ecolabels and standards for organic food and other products. Most standards refer to the triple bottom line of environmental quality, social equity, and economic prosperity. A standard is normally developed by a broad range of stakeholders and experts in a particular sector and includes a set of practices or criteria for how a crop should be sustainably grown or a resource should be ethically harvested. This might cover, for instance, responsible fishing practices that do not endanger marine biodiversity or respect for human rights, and the payment of fair wages on a coffee or tea plantation. Normally sustainabi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Environmental Audit
An environmental audit is a type of evaluation intended to identify environmental compliance and management system implementation gaps, along with related corrective actions. In this way they perform an analogous (similar) function to financial audits. There are generally two different types of environmental audits: compliance audits and management systems audits. Compliance audits tend to be the primary type in the US or within US-based multinationals. Environmental compliance audits Compliance obligations can be considered as applicable laws and regulations. Environmental compliance audits are intended to review the site's/company's legal compliance status in an operational context. Compliance audits generally begin with determining the applicable legal compliance requirements against which the operations will be assessed. This tends to include federal regulations, state regulations, permits and local ordinances/codes. In some cases, it may also include requirements within l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Classification Of Eco Labels
Classification is the activity of assigning objects to some pre-existing classes or categories. This is distinct from the task of establishing the classes themselves (for example through cluster analysis). Examples include diagnostic tests, identifying spam emails and deciding whether to give someone a driving license. As well as 'category', synonyms or near-synonyms for 'class' include 'type', 'species', 'order', 'concept', 'taxon', 'group', 'identification' and 'division'. The meaning of the word 'classification' (and its synonyms) may take on one of several related meanings. It may encompass both classification and the creation of classes, as for example in 'the task of categorizing pages in Wikipedia'; this overall activity is listed under taxonomy. It may refer exclusively to the underlying scheme of classes (which otherwise may be called a taxonomy). Or it may refer to the label given to an object by the classifier. Classification is a part of many different kinds of activ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Angel (certification)
The Blue Angel is an environmental label in Germany that has been awarded to particularly environmentally friendly products and services since 1978. The owner of the label is the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety. History The Blue Angel is the ecolabel of the West German government and was introduced in 1978 by the Federal Minister of the Interior, which was a person of the Free Democratic Party (Germany) (FDP) in these years. This ministry was also responsible for environmental protection at the time, and the responsible ministers in the German federal states. It was established with the aim of highlighting more environmentally friendly and healthy developments and alternatives in areas where standard products have a negative impact on the environment. Suppliers can label their products and services with the environmental label on a voluntary basis and provide interested customers with guidance as a result. The Blue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council GmbH (FSC) is an international non-profit, multistakeholder organization established in 1993 that promotes responsible management of the world's forests via timber certification. This organization uses a market-based approach to transnational environmental policy. FSC is a global forest certification system established for forests and forest products. According to the council, the use of the FSC logo signifies that a product comes from environmentally, socially, and economically responsible sources. In addition to its global certification standard, FSC develops national standards in selected countries. The FSC has 10 Principles and associated Criteria (FSC P&C) that form the basis for all FSC standards and certification. FSC was established in 1993 as a response to concerns over global deforestation. It now has around 1200 members, including the World Wide Fund for Nature and IKEA. History Tropical deforestation as a global concern rose ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainable Consumption
Sustainable consumption (sometimes abbreviated to "SC") is the use of products and services in ways that minimizes human impact on the environment, impacts on the environment. Sustainable consumption can be undertaken in such a way that needs are met for present-day humans and also for future generations. Sustainable consumption is often paralleled with sustainable production; consumption refers to use and disposal (or recycling) not just by individuals and households, but also by governments, businesses, and other organizations. Sustainable consumption is closely related to sustainable products, sustainable production and sustainable living, sustainable lifestyles. "A sustainable lifestyle minimizes Ecology, ecological impacts while enabling a flourishing life for individuals, households, communities, and beyond. It is the product of individual and collective decisions about aspirations and about satisfying needs and adopting practices, which are in turn conditioned, facilitated, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harmonization (standards)
Harmonization is the process of minimizing redundant or conflicting standards which may have evolved independently. The name is also an analogy to the process to harmonizing discordant music. Harmonization is different from standardization. Harmonization involves a reduction in variation of standards, while standardization entails moving towards the eradication of any variation with the adoption of a single standard. The goal for standard harmonization is to find commonalities, identify critical requirements that need to be retained, and provide a common framework for standards setting organizations (SSO) to adopt. In some instances, businesses come together forming alliances or coalitions, also referred to multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSI) with a belief that harmonization could reduce compliance costs and simplify the process of meeting requirements. With potential to reduce complexity for those tasked with testing and auditing standards for compliance. Harmonization in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standardization
Standardization (American English) or standardisation (British English) is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organizations and governments. Standardization can help maximize compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, efficiency, and quality. It can also facilitate a normalization of formerly custom processes. In social sciences, including economics, the idea of ''standardization'' is close to the solution for a coordination problem, a situation in which all parties can realize mutual gains, but only by making mutually consistent decisions. Divergent national standards impose costs on consumers and can be a form of non-tariff trade barrier. History Early examples Standard weights and measures were developed by the Indus Valley civilization.Iwata, Shigeo (2008), "Weights and Measures in the Indus Valley", ''Encyclopaedia of the History ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
EU Ecolabel
EU Ecolabel or EU Flower is a voluntary ecolabel scheme established in 1992 by the European Union. Logo The label includes a green flower with inclined green "ϵ" (epsilon, Greek epsilon) as the flower, surrounded by 12 blue stars. On EU Ecolabelled products, it must always be used together with the license number. Because of the logo, the label has a nickname ''EU Flower''. Governance The implementation of the EU Ecolabel is set through Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Its management is carried out by the European Commission and the national competent bodies. There is a competent body in each European Economic Area member state. The EU Ecolabel is part of a broader EU Action Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy adopted by the European Commission on 16 July 2008, which also links the EU Ecolabel to other EU policies such as Procurement#Green public procurement, green public procurement (GPP) a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Standards
An international standard is a technical standard developed by one or more international standards organizations. International standards are available for consideration and use worldwide. The most prominent such organization is the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Other prominent international standards organizations including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Together, these three organizations have formed the World Standards Cooperation alliance. Purpose International standards can be applied directly or adapted to meet local conditions. When adopted, they lead to the creation of national standards that are either equivalent to or largely align with the international standards in technical content, though they may have: (i) editorial variations, such as differences in appearance, the use of symbols, measurement units, or the choice of a point over a comma as the decimal marker, and (ii) v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
