Eco Labelling

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the potential for the labelling of the water footprint of products in an Australian context. It considers theoretical contribution and technical challenges of water labelling and in particular how non-fungible water extractions might be evaluated and communicated. Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines the theoretical contribution of labels drawing on the sustainability typology articulated by Hopwood et al. and more recent claims that access to product-level environmental information may constitute a consumer right. The paper also explores labelling empirically via an extensive literature review and ten interviews with water regulators and commercial water users. Findings – Water footprint reporting could make a significant contribution to public water literacy. Significant technical hurdles remain, however, in appropriately distinguishing differing impacts of water extractions as well as in relation to measurement, allocation and information overload. This suggests that labelling of complex products is currently infeasible but existing and emerging solutions to these issues suggest that labelling of simpler products is a realistic possibility. Research limitations/implications – Given the relatively small scope of interviews, the findings of this study might be triangulated with other research methods such as surveys and/or focus groups for the findings to be validated. Additionally, future research might focus on overcoming each of the challenges noted above for a particular product in order to bring water labelling closer to practical reality. Originality/value – Labelling schemes offer improved corporate supply-chain accountability yet have received little attention in the social and environmental accounting literature to date. This paper therefore seeks to make a theoretical and empirical contribution to this emerging field of labelling in the area of water, a key sustainability issue.

While prior ecolabel research suggests that consumers’ trust of ecolabel sponsors is associated with their purchase of ecolabeled products, we know little about how third-party certification might relate to consumer purchases when trust varies. Drawing on cognitive theory, and a stratified random sample of more than 1,200 consumers, we assess how third-party certification relates to consumers’ use of ecolabels across different program sponsors. We find that consumers’ trust of government and environmental NGOs to provide credible environmental information encourages consumers’ use of ecolabels sponsored by these entities, and consumers do not differentiate between certified vs. uncertified ecolabels in the presence of trust. By contrast, consumers’ distrust of private business to provide credible environmental information discourages their use of business association sponsored ecolabels. However, these ecolabels may be able to overcome consumer distrust if their sponsors certify the ecolabels using third-party auditors. These findings are important to sponsors who wish develop ecolabels that are more credible to consumers and thus encourage more widespread ecolabel use.

Eco-certifications have become an important site of power struggles in commodity sectors such as forestry,
fisheries, aquaculture, palm oil, and soy. In each, multiple eco-certification initiatives have been
developed and resisted through interactions among non-governmental organizations, governments,
and commercial actors. This paper contributes to understanding how power is embodied in certifications
by exploring how territoriality manifests in the international struggle over defining what products are
‘sustainable’ and which producers will have access to markets that require ‘sustainable’ products.
Focusing on the wild capture fisheries sector in which the non-governmental Marine Stewardship
Council (MSC) administers the preeminent eco-certification initiative, we explore the emergence of
new fisheries eco-certification initiatives in Japan, Iceland, Alaska, Canada, and the US that insist there
is no transnational monopoly on judgments over fisheries sustainability. We argue that these new
eco-certifications attempt to defend and embed territorial social and regulatory relations of production
within the contested domain of transnational sustainability governance. The initiatives accommodate
both the territorially embedded material interests, institutions, and discursive strategies of producers
(and their state supporting agencies) and transnationally embedded governance norms for assessing
and communicating sustainability. They also counter the globally applicable institutions of the MSC in
favor of making space for state and non-state actors to contend with demands for sustainability in the
global seafood market by combining place-specific attributes with transnational governance norms.

The number of eco-labeling schemes is rising dramatically, yet the rigor and credibility of such schemes remains uneven. Whereas some eco-labeling organizations (ELOs) comply with best practice guidelines designed to increase the credibility of their standards through attention to good operating principles, such as transparency and impartiality, others do not. Within this article, I attempt to explain this variation through multivariate regression analysis of an original cross-sectoral dataset of transnational ELO policies and practices. I find compelling evidence to suggest that ELOs with environmental non-governmental organization (ENGO) partners, nonprofit structures, or broad transnational reach are most likely to comply with best practices. I also find that private ELOs are more likely to disregard best practices than public ones. Conversely, I find little evidence that levels of industry funding or sector-specific competition dynamics affect best practice compliance. This study contributes new data, a new method of comparison, and new findings to the growing literature on transnational governance.

This paper investigates the factors associated with the (non)adoption of eco-certification among the nature-based tourism companies in the Scandinavian region. Previous research suggested that the popularity of tourism eco-certification schemes remained limited in the region due to socio-cultural, historical and other specifics. We revisit this query a decade later with the support of nation-wide data from two Scandinavian countries – Norway and Sweden. The quantitative results suggest that such factors as motivations for operating a nature-based tourism business, beliefs about eco-certification effects, economic and demographic characteristics, are associated with the eco-certification adoption. Qualitative insights shed more light on the existing barriers for this sustainability approach in the region. The results suggest that companies with strong beliefs in the positive context (i.e. beliefs that eco-certification is capable to generate higher income, more customers and provide marketing advantage), lifestyle and sustainability-oriented business goals together with favorable organizational context (larger size, higher income and having a female leader) are more likely to invest in an eco-certification scheme.

The sustainable management of shared fishery resources remains a research concern despite the theoretical advances of recent decades. In the context of globalization, governance of fisheries resources cannot be conceived aside from a general restructuring of the value chain and without taking into account the evolution of the standard of living of fishing communities. This paper argues that in knowledge-based economies, value creation is based on proper management of the friction between material and immaterial vectors associated with the activity of fisheries. The case study of the shellfish community of Carril in northwestern Spain is presented and analyzed, setting out potential labeling alternatives to empower local producers.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to explore the concept of consumers’ perception of sustainable wine and second ,to investigate different clusters based on three factors identified (belief about environmental protection, beliefs about sustainable wine certification and attitude towards sustainable-labelled wine) and willingness to pay (WTP). Then, socio-demographic characteristics have been considered to assess whether group’s composition differ considerably

Quinoa farmers in San Agustín, Bolivia face the dilemma of producing for a growing international market while defending their community interests and resources, meeting their basic household needs, and making a profit. Farmers responded to a changing market in the 1970s by creating committees in defense of quinoa and farmer cooperatives to represent their interests and maximize economic returns. Today farmer cooperatives offer high, stable prices, politically represent farmers, and are major quinoa exporters, but intermediaries continue to play an important role in the local economy. Meanwhile, some farmers rebuff the national cooperatives and intermediaries in favor of a denomination of origin and closer association with local cooperatives. This article, based on 4 months of ethnographic research, explores the reasons for the continued presence of intermediaries on the market landscape and how farmers have worked to create a quinoa economy embedded with fair trade values. Farmers demand stable prices, flexible standards, provision of services, and promises of maintaining the distinctive qualities of San Agustín quinoa. They frame their trades in economic, utility, and solidarity terms to reflect their livelihood strategies, farming capabilities, and personal concepts of fair trade. Meanwhile cooperatives, development initiatives, and intermediaries each argue that their particular buying practices allow farmers to attain household goods, credit, and cash for food and economic security.

The latest statistics reveal that Australia now has more certified organic agriculture hectares than the rest of the world put together. Organics is a major success story for Australia and the achievement of global majority (51%) is an important organics milestone. Organic agriculture is reported from 181 countries. Australia reported 35,645,038 certified organic hectares and the world total is 69,845,243 hectares. Australia has been the world leader in organics, based on certified organic hectares, since global statistics of organics were first collated and published in 2000. In the two decades since then, global organics has grown at 12% per annum (pa), year on year, while Australian organics has grown at 16% pa. This growth in Australia has ramped up to 22% for the past five years. In Australia this has been achieved without government support and without institutional support. Australia is at no risk of being ‘knocked off the perch’ anytime soon. In second position is Argentina with 3,385,827 hectares, less than 10% of Australia’s tally. Third is China with 3,023,000 hectares, then comes Spain with 2,082,173 ha, then USA with 2,031,318 ha. Of eight states and territories in Australia, all report some organics. The states in the lead are South Australia and Queensland. Of the country’s agricultural land, 8.8% is certified organic, so there is still plenty of room for improvement. Organic agriculture produces premium products that attract a price premium in the market, whether at home or abroad. At the present rate of growth Australia can be expected to shortly join the ‘10% Club’, along with the leaders Liechtenstein (37.9%), Samoa (37.6%), Austria (24.0%), Estonia (20.5%), and ten others. The market for Australian organic produce is mostly driven by the world’s appetite for clean and nutritious food, ultimately that means by discerning consumers with the wherewithal to pay the organic premium. Meanwhile, the world’s consumers are becoming more informed, more discerning, more health conscious, and more wealthy. No one would eat glyphosated food if they had a choice, which is to say, an informed choice. The prospects for global and Australian organics are good.

As a typical consumer, it is difficult to estimate the long term environmental and economic consequences housing type and household location will have when both home and associated transportation costs are to be considered jointly. Were information to be presented more clearly to home buyers however, such as with an eco-label, as well as policies drafted at the municipal level to more fairly price municipal services and taxes, we believe market forces could be leveraged to guide individuals toward making more informed and sustainable choices. To better understand the actual costs and emissions generated and incurred over a 50-year lifespan, we design 8 different scenarios for 100-hectare suburban developments and estimate the effect of varying the density, land use mix, distance from central business district and access to commuter rail, on emissions and operating costs for both housing and multi-modal transportation, all the while controlling for household type and unit size. Our results indicate that, using very conservative estimates for both household energy-related emissions and vehicle costs, the difference over a 50-year lifespan from the most to the least sustainable option is $555,972 (73% greater) and 218,115 kg CO2 (92% greater) for a typical family with children living in a 1,250 square foot unit.