Evaluation of the Implementation of the Ecolabel Regulation– Progress Update European Union Ecolabelling Board - 18th June 2014 Chris Nuttall – Ricardo-AEA

Overview Project background Project website Stakeholder engagement update On-line survey Face to face / telephone interviews Desk research Next steps

Supporting the Evaluation of the Implementation of the EU Ecolabel Regulation Ricardo-AEA lead partner IEFE 12 month project Including project website Stakeholder workshop in October

Supporting the Evaluation of the Implementation of the EU Ecolabel Regulation Project Plan Task 6: Stakeholder Consultation Face-to-face interviews Remote interviews (telephone) Electronic questionnaire Stakeholder event Website Task 6: Stakeholder Consultation Face-to-face interviews Remote interviews (telephone) Electronic questionnaire Stakeholder workshop Website What has happened so far What will happen in the future

Project website www.survey-ecolabel.eu

Supporting the Evaluation of the Implementation of the EU Ecolabel Regulation Countries to target Six countries, two from each band. Class A: Denmark, Austria, Cyprus, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden, Finland Class B: Spain, Belgium, Slovenia, Malta, Czech Republic, Ireland, Portugal, Germany Class C: Norway, Latvia, Hungary, United Kingdom, Estonia, Poland, Slovak Republic, Lithuania, Greece, Romania But we welcome input from all countries

Supporting the Evaluation of the Implementation of the EU Ecolabel Regulation Products to target Article – Tissue paper Consistent with country selection Success story with relevant uptake Some market and environmental data available Mixture – Indoor paints and varnishes Recent revision documents Service – Tourist Accommodation Televisions Product group with low uptake

Supporting the Evaluation of the Implementation of the EU Ecolabel Regulation Stakeholders to target Competent bodies Ministries Consumer organisations NGOs Ecolabel licence holders Non licence holders Retailers SMEs

On-Line Survey Access through project website

On-line survey responses to date

Maximising the response rate Questions are available in different languages

Maximising the response rate EU Ecolabel website Global Ecolabelling Network

Maximising Responses - How can you help? Competent Bodies and Government Institutes have a wealth of experience with the European Ecolabel This is your opportunity to provide feedback and influence future regulation Please complete the survey! Examples of how some Competent Bodies have assisted: Publicise the survey in their own newsletters Utilised their own contact lists to email the survey link Licence holders Businesses / contacts that have expressed an interest in the ecolabel Remember: Deadline: 21st July 2014

Face to face / telephone interviews Focused on target countries and product groups Happy to undertake telephone interview with other Competent Bodies / Ministries Contacts for potential interviews are welcome e.g. retailers

Example feedback from interviews Awareness: Do not think that the Ecolabel helps with avoiding “green wash”, avoiding green- wash requires a supervisory authority and enforcement. Undefined EU Ecolabel role in avoiding the marketing of products with misleading claims or un-certified labels; The role of EU Ecolabel is a very strong instrument to avoiding misleading claims; Consumers’ awareness of the Flower label is low Urgent need of stronger communication across Europe on the Scheme General low awareness of the EU Ecolabel in many product/service groups EU Ecolabel contributes to raise consumers’ awareness about green products

Example feedback from interviews Adoption: Current levels of adoption are low – businesses won’t adopt it unless there is a business reason to do so.  Currently there isn’t. Awareness of the Ecolabel is low in our country, and likely to remain so.  No plans to drive an advertising campaign. Higher level of adoption in our country, completing all the reapplications within the set timeframes can be challenging There is room for improvement in the performance of the EU Ecolabel in terms of adoption Adopters say criteria are too stringent and the label difficult to communicate

Example feedback from interviews Process: Want to see more streamlined criteria requirements that focus on the key impacts, and demonstrate a realisable benefit. Simplify the criteria, for example the tourism label has over 80 requirements A pragmatic approach would be welcomed, that addresses the main impacts, and does not develop criteria for areas that are not a main concern or are even not relevant. The EU Ecolabel is competing with national labels but there is room for harmonization

Example feedback from interviews Environmental Impacts: Believe the ecolabel has a positive effect in terms of product environmental impact The EU Ecolabel is not having a significant impact in changing consumption patterns Good EU Ecolabel performance over the time, mainly in terms of number of EU Ecolabelled products/services on the market and in terms of contribution to better environmental performance Insufficient Ecolabel performance over the time, mainly in terms of number of EU Ecolabelled products/services on the market Contribution to the improvement of the environmental performance Most eco-labels have a positive effect on the environment, however there are difficulties associated with measuring this effect precisely, or disassociating it from the effects of other measures; Ecolabel helps to identify those products which are environmental preferable over others - stringent environmental criteria

Example feedback from interviews Added Value of the EU Ecolabel: A guarantee of environmental and quality performance and potentially powerful marketing tool; Better market positioning and contribution to environmental improvement of the performance; The Ecolabel is a crucial instrument to facilitate sustainable purchasing decisions; Many indirect benefits from EU Ecolabl adoption: Better environmental performance; Promotion of environmentally friendly consumption pattern; Contribution to eco-innovation; Increased Competitiveness Data The Competent Bodies / Ministries we have interviewed do not collect data on sales of ecolabelled products

Example feedback from interviews Other: Ecolabel is a good thing, support it, and want to see it grow. Want the Ecolabel to benefit and drive business, businesses should see it as a tool they can use to drive their businesses. It should be self-funding. General perception of existing synergies with other EU policies Lacking awareness of synergies and/or conflicts between the EU Ecolabel and other product policies/ tools The success of EU Ecolabel is closely tied to the broader strategy and political goals set for sustainable consumption; Unclear if benefits overweight the costs of adoption; Benefits from EU Ecolabel adoption overweighing costs

Desk research Key aspect of each task Desk research will supplement the outputs from the survey/interviews to inform our research Preliminary screening to identify relevant literature complete Now getting into the detail for each task Focused on this until the survey closes

Next Steps Please complete the survey – deadline is 20th July 2014 Workshop Timetable Date Attendees Data analysis Ongoing desk research Feel free to contact the project team: surveyecolabel@ricardo-aea.com

Any Questions?

Chris Nuttall Ricardo-AEA Ltd The Gemini Building Fermi Avenue Harwell, Didcot, OX11 0QR +44 (0)1235 753065 Chris.nuttall@ricardo-aea.com www.ricardo-aea.com