Crafting Next Generation Eco-Label Policy

Eco-labels present a promising policy tool in the effort to achieve sustainable consumption. Many questions remain, however, about the extent to which eco-labels can contribute to sustainability efforts and how to maximize their effectiveness. This Article deploys research from evolutionary psychology, behavioral law and economics, and norm theory to offer specific insights for the design and implementation of eco-labels to enhance their influence on sustainable consumer choice. Notably, this research suggests possibilities for eco-labels to shape or expand consumer preferences for green goods, and thereby enhance eco-label influence on consumer behavior by extending it beyond eco-minded consumers. We suggest that public exposure of the label (so that people see it) and the exposure of the purchasing behavior (so that other people can see that you have bought the product) are key elements to the success of eco-labels--the social context around product purchasing may be as important as the eco-label itself. We recommend that behavioral insights be used to improve eco-labeling as traditionally understood by incorporating knowledge about behavioral tendencies into label design so as to allow for more accurate matching of consumers\u27 preexisting environmental preferences to eco-labeled goods, and develop next-generation eco-labeling policy with the potential to significantly expand the market for eco-labeled goods. Specifically, 1) Eco-labels could be purposefully designed and implemented to attract consumers motivated by social norms; 2) Eco-labels could appeal to a wider range of abstract norm alternate more broadly or locally accepted and strong abstract that are stronger and/or more broadly accepted or locally-salient; and 3) Eco-labels could highlight private, near and near-term benefits

The Value of Eco-Labelling - Executive Summary

John Paull’s book ‘The Value of Eco-labelling’ ‘ published by VDM Verlag examines the value that eco-labelling and geo-labelling can add to food. Which eco-labels and which place-of-origin labels add value? Just how much value do they add? And for which consumers? This study demonstrates that a knowledge of the method of production and the place of production of food has measurable monetary value for consumers. The study examines the value to consumers of particular eco-labels and geo-labels. ‘The Value of Eco-Labelling’ reports the values of Organic, Certified Organic, Natural and Eco, as well as of country-of-origin labelling (CoOL) and regional provenance labelling. The interaction effects of multiple food labelling claims are identified. Based on a raft of demographic measures, ‘The Value of Eco-Labelling’ identifies just which consumers are responsive to which claims. This book presents an efficient and effective methodology for quantifying consumer value. ‘The Value of Eco-Labelling’ presents a treasure trove of data, analysis, insights and surprises. ‘The Value of Eco-Labelling’ is a valuable resource for food producers, marketers and certifiers, as well as for agricultural departments, organisations, advisers, policy makers, consumer advocates and researchers. The Executive Summary is presented here

Eco-innovation practices’ adoption in the automotive industry

Eco-innovation is a construct that is gaining increasing interest from academics and researchers since it is commonly considered in the literature as one of the strategies that allow manufacturing companies not only to significantly reduce the negative impacts on the environment but also the generation of pollutants. However, little is known about the adoption of eco-innovation practices in manufacturing companies, particularly in the automotive industry. Therefore, this research has as main objective to fill this gap in the literature and explore the interdependence between eco-innovation of products, processes and management. The study is conducted through a research framework consisting of 3 measurement scales, 14 items and 3 hypotheses and an extensive review of the literature. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 460 companies in the automotive and auto parts industry in Mexico. Data were analyzed through Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Descriptive Statistics and Structural Equation Modelling. The results obtained show that product eco-innovation, process eco-innovation and management eco-innovation are good indicators for the adoption of eco-innovation practices for companies in the automotive and auto parts industry. The paper addresses a research gap in the academic literature in the eco-innovation field by providing evidence on the interdependence between eco-innovation of products, processes and management and the implementation of their practices in the automotive industry.N/

Exploring the eco-attitudes and buying behaviour of Facebook users

Eco-friendly consumers’ attitudes are becoming increasingly frequent, recent research indicating that pro-environmental purchase behaviour not only lower costs on the long term, but also enhance business stakeholders’ and consumers’ confidence in high added value products and services. This paper undertakes an interdisciplinary research on how social media (i.e. Facebook) can influence users’ perceptions and buying behaviour related to five categories of ecological products and services (eco-food, eco-tourism, eco-housing, eco-textiles and eco-beauty & cosmetics). This research investigates how ecological products and services could gain popularity and overpass the identified purchasing barriers (e.g. high prices, low awareness, low availability) via superior integration in consumers’ daily experiences with Facebook. The research findings indicate that Facebook represents an effective and innovative environment that could build the necessary links between green attitudes and consumers’ hearts and minds

Resistance to frost and tuber soft rot in near-pentaploid Solanum tuberosum - S. commersonii hybrids

The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the tolerance to low temperatures and tuber soft rot in sexual near-pentaploid hybrids between incongruent 2x (1EBN) Solanum commersonii (CMM) and 4x (4EBN) S. tuberosum (TBR). For freezing resistance, killing temperatures both under non-acclimated and un- der acclimated conditions were determined using the ion leakage procedure. Values for the hybrids were dis- tributed between the wild and cultivated parental values. Some hybrids displayed an acclimation capacity close to 2.5°C, typical of hardy species. Artificial inoculation of tubers with Pectobacterium carotovorum ssp. carotovorum (formerly Erwinia carotovora ssp. carotovora) provided evidence of variability in disease response. Highly resistant hybrids were identified. After conventional phenotypic selection, wild genome content was estimated based on the presence of CMM-specific AFLP fragments. Seven primer combinations were used (Eco-AGG/Mse-CAA; Eco-ACC/Mse-CAT; Eco-ACT/Mse-CAC; Eco-ACT/Mse-CAG; Eco- ACT/Mse-CAA; Eco-ACT/Mse-CAT; Eco-AGG/Mse-CAG). The percentages of CMM-specific AFLPs ranged from 4.3% to 56.7%, with an average value of 28.1%. AFLP analysis was employed for the selection of the hybrids to be used for further breeding objectives

Do Government Policies Foster Environmental Performance of Enterprises from CEE Region?

In recent years, EU countries, including these from the Central Eastern European (CEE) region has recognised, that eco-innovation should be treated as strategic priority of their economies. The aim of this paper is to present a cross-country analysis of the connection between eco-innovation and its main drivers within firms from selected CEE countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania) and Germany. The empirical part is based on micro-data for Community Innovation Survey (CIS) 2006-2008. Based on the results of stepwise regression between main policy actions sustaining innovation activity and eco-innovation performance we can conclude, that financial support for innovation activities has a rather limited role in promoting eco-innovation. At the same time enterprises from the CEE region regard environmental regulations as the most important drivers of eco-innovation. In Germany, a country ranked in the highest category in the Eco-Innovation Scoreboard, the variety of forces that influence eco-innovation is much more wide-ranging. This indicates that government actions should take a broader look and lay the more general bases fostering the model of a green growth

Tests on the effectiveness of mass trapping by Eco-trap (Vyoril) in the control of Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin) in organic farming

Tests on the effectiveness of mass trapping by Eco-trap (Vyoril) in the control of Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin) in organic farming were carried out in 2003 and 2004. The tests took place into two organic olive groves located in Agrigento and Trapani (Sicily); in both years the olive cultivar was Cerasuola. In Agrigento, it was considered the effectiveness of Eco-trap vs. bottle traps baited with diammonium phosphate; while in Trapani the effectiveness of Eco-trap added to other products admitted in organic farming (two products containing kaolin and one containing copper) was evaluated. In 2003, year with a low B. oleae population density, no statistically significant difference resulted among Eco-trap, bottle traps with diammonium phosphate and control. In 2004 B. oleae infestations were high; although some statistically significant differences among plots with Eco-traps and plots without them emerged, the additional power of Eco-trap in controlling B. oleae resulted very limited in plots sprayed with kaolin products and more consistent in the plot with copper hydroxide. The economic advantage of the use of Eco-trap, also in comparison with repellent and antiovipositional products, still remains doubtful

Factory Eco-Efficiency Modelling: Framework Development and Testing

Eco-efficiency is becoming an increasingly important organisational performance measure. Its indicators are regularly used alongside productivity, cost, quality, health and safety in operations and corporate social responsibility reporting. The purpose of this paper is to show an eco-efficiency modelling framework, and its application in the case of an automotive manufacturer. The framework composes, models and analyses resource and production data. Focus on energy, water distributions and material transformations in manufacturing, utility and facility assets are used to analyse eco-efficiency. Resources are examined in respect to three data granularity factors: subdivision, pulse, and magnitude. Models are linked with performance indicators to assess asset eco-efficiency. This work contributes to industrial sustainability literature by introducing a modelling framework that links with data granularity and eco-efficiency indicators

Eco-innovations for economic growth and environment protection

The aim of this work is the presentation of current EU issues on eco-innovations in the light of its role for economic growth and natural environment protection. Within the EU economic and environmental climate, eco-innovations can be the key to Europe’s competitiveness in the future. However, in many EU countries, including Poland, the market of eco-innovations is developing too sluggishly and faces a number of obstacles. Moreover, there are many differences between the EU countries in the field of eco-innovations. Although at the European level numerous support tools are currently applied, there is a growing necessity to gear them towards making eco-innovations commonplace on the market. This paper makes an attempt at answering a few questions crucial for finding optimal solutions for the development of an integrated support system for ecological innovations, in particular: what are the potential benefits of the implementation and development of innovations for the economy and natural environment, what are the current eco-innovation support tools and the main issues in their development, and what is the level of eco-innovation in the EU countries including Poland, seen through the available data.Preparation and printing funded by the National Agency for Research and Development under project “Kreator Innowacyjności – wparcie dla Przedsiębiorczości akademickiej

Assessment of the worthwhileness of efficient driving in railway systems with high-receptivity power supplies

Eco-driving is one of the most important strategies for significantly reducing the energy consumption of railways with low investments. It consists of designing a way of driving a train to fulfil a target running time, consuming the minimum amount of energy. Most eco-driving energy savings come from the substitution of some braking periods with coasting periods. Nowadays, modern trains can use regenerative braking to recover the kinetic energy during deceleration phases. Therefore, if the receptivity of the railway system to regenerate energy is high, a question arises: is it worth designing eco-driving speed profiles? This paper assesses the energy benefits that eco-driving can provide in different scenarios to answer this question. Eco-driving is obtained by means of a multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm, combined with a detailed train simulator, to obtain realistic results. Eco-driving speed profiles are compared with a standard driving that performs the same running time. Real data from Spanish high-speed lines have been used to analyze the results in two case studies. Stretches fed by 1 × 25 kV and 2 × 25 kV AC power supply systems have been considered, as they present high receptivity to regenerate energy. Furthermore, the variations of the two most important factors that affect the regenerative energy usage have been studied: train motors efficiency ratio and catenary resistance. Results indicate that the greater the catenary resistance, the more advantageous eco-driving is. Similarly, the lower the motor efficiency, the greater the energy savings provided by efficient driving. Despite the differences observed in energy savings, the main conclusion is that eco-driving always provides significant energy savings, even in the case of the most receptive power supply network. Therefore, this paper has demonstrated that efforts in improving regenerated energy usage must not neglect the role of eco-driving in railway efficiency