General Information - Products and Environment

Products and environment – what is it all about?

Consumption in private households alone generates more than 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Germany and this does not even include the manufacturing of consumer goods. This implies two things: The consumption of products has an increasing impact not only on the economic and social situation of people but also on the state of the environment.

Objectives

Not reduced consumption….

"Sustainability is a quality label for products" – this notion should become a guiding principle not only for consumers in Germany but also for industry and public administration. It is not just a matter of consumption itself but of what is being consumed and how.

…but sustainable consumption and sustainable production

The World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002 agreed on the development of a 10 year framework programme for sustainable consumption and production patterns. Industrialised countries in particular are asked to promote sustainable consumption and production.

Policy of the German government

The top-runner approach

The top-runner approach is the guiding principle for the Federal Government in product related environmental protection. It is aimed at a swift penetration of the market with the most environmentally friendly or resource and energy efficient technologies. The basic concept of the top-runner approach, which was developed in Japan, works as follows: the best product available on the market becomes standard and all the other products of the same product type have to achieve this standard within a certain time frame. Products which do not achieve this standard by a determined deadline can no longer be placed on the market.

The following instruments are currently available within the Single European Market to implement the top-runner approach:

• Minimum efficiency standards (Ecodesign Directive)
• Mandatory energy consumption labelling
• Voluntary environmental labelling of top-runner products (EU ecolabel and Der Blaue Engel (The Blue Angel) in Germany)
• Environmental criteria for public procurement.

Minimum efficiency standards (Ecodesign Directive)

The Ecodesign Directive is the legal framework in Europe for the definition of design requirements for energy consuming products. With the implementation of the Ecodesign Directive particularly inefficient products will be excluded from the European market. Energy efficiency in products is currently the most important requirement of the Directive. However, the Directive also grants fundamental regulatory leeway for the inclusion of other environmental aspects in products such as resource consumption.

Mandatory energy consumption labelling Mandatory energy consumption labelling

Due to EU-wide mandatory labelling of energy and resource consumption for the use phase of products (energy label), consumers can gain information on the energy and resource consumption of the products they buy, compare them and make their purchases accordingly. This also serves as an incentive to manufacturers to continually improve their products. This policy enhances the market penetration of particularly efficient products.

Voluntary environmental labelling of top-runner products (EU ecolabel and Der Blaue Engel (Blue Angel) in Germany)

The most well known product-related environmental policy instrument in Germany is Der Blaue Engel (Blauer Engel. It has been awarded for more than 30 years now and covers assessments of more than 11,000 products and services. ‘The Blue Angel’ is a label which manufacturers can use on a voluntary basis. It guarantees consumers a particularly environmentally friendly and functional product. Since its review in 2009 The Blue Angel focuses even more on the environmental protection aspects of products. At present it is being awarded in the sectors climate, water, health and resource protection. A special section of the website allows consumers to search for specific products with the Blue Angel label.

The recognized environmental label at EU level is the "flower". The voluntary label, introduced in 1992 by EU Regulation EEC 880/92, has become an EU-wide reference for consumers who want to contribute to pollution reduction by buying environmentally friendly products and services.

Environmental criteria for public procurement

Another important instrument is what is called green public procurement (" class="external-link-new-window" target="_blank">Umweltfreundliche Beschaffung (in German only)): When goods are purchased at Federal, Länder or local authority level, e.g. for schools, administrative buildings or in road construction, public procurers should set a good example and give preference to buying innovative and environmentally sound products. Raising demand through purchases from public institutions will create and strengthen markets for environmentally sound products and services.

International product policies

The Marrakesh Process

The World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002 started the so-called Marrakesh Process. Industrialised countries in particular are asked to promote sustainable consumption and production. Since then the Marrakesh Process has pooled the multitude of international initiatives on sustainable consumption and production and initiated new projects. The decisions adopted as part of the Marrakesh Process are a powerful call on all states to take domestic action and also to assume an active part in shaping the international process. The ultimate goal of the process is the adoption of a 10 Year Framework for Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production. This 10 year framework was negotiated at the 19th meeting of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) in May 2011. However, the meeting did not manage to adopt it due to other controversial topics in the overall CSD negotiations. Now the framework is scheduled to be adopted at the world summit in Rio in 2012 at the latest.

European product policies

The European Commission launched numerous initiatives on environmental product policies. Among them ranges the Communication on Integrated Product Policy of June 2003 which laid the foundation for environmental impacts of products to be taken into account over their whole life span. The European Ecodesign Directive makes sure that environmental requirements are also observed in the design of products. The reduction of the power consumption of domestic and office devices in stand-by mode to 1-2 Watt is just one positive effect achieved by it. Furthermore, there are numerous EU initiatives such as the EU ecolabel, public procurement initiatives or the eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS).

Consumer information

By making deliberate decisions consumers can help to reduce negative impacts on the environment and contribute to a sparing use of valuable resources. Ecolabels such as The Blue Angel in Germany provide guidance for the choice of products and their purchase. Surveys published by the EU Commission reveal that the largest potential for the reduction of environmental impacts can be found in the sectors food, transport, construction/housing and here in particular in the household appliances sector. In many cases there are sustainable products available – it is just a matter of asking for them!

• Results of German survey on sustainable consumer behaviour by the German Federal Environment Agency UBA (in German)

• Products and environment
• The Blue Angel
• Green public procurement
• Ökobilanzen von Produkten (life cycle assessment (in German only))

• Sustainable development
• Economy and environment
• Europe and environment
• Climate Protection Dialogue
• Energy Efficiency