Ecolabels

Rising environmental awareness among household consumers is prompting many manufacturers to label products with claims of green authenticity.

However, it can be difficult for consumers to judge which claims can be relied on.

Independently audited and awarded “ecolabels” have been created to help consumers make choices that will genuinely benefit the environment. Ecolabels which appear on products sold in New Zealand and can be trusted include the following.

Full product life cycle labels

The premier type of ecolabel is a “Type I ecolabel”. This means that the ecolabel is:

full life-cycle impacts based
independent third-party audited
awarded using multiple public criteria, and
meets the ISO 14-024 standards for criteria setting and auditing.

New Zealand’s only Type I ecolabel is Environmental Choice New Zealand.

Other Type I ecolabels which may be seen and trusted on imported products include:

Good Environmental Choice (Australia)
“Flower” Ecolabel (Europe)
Blue Angel (Germany)
EcoLogo (Canada)
Green Seal (USA)
Nordic Swan (Scandinavia)
KoEco (Korea)
EcoMark (Japan)

Efficiency rating labels

Efficiency rating labels use a star system to show efficiency – the more stars, the more efficient the product is.

Energy Rating label - shows the energy efficiency of appliances.
Water Rating label – shows the water efficiency of washing machines, dishwashers, toilets, showers, taps and urinals.
Vehicle fuel economy labels – show the fuel efficiency of all new vehicles since April 2008.

Production ecolabels

These indicate reduced environmental or social impacts in the resource extraction, production, or service provision part of the product life cycle. Examples include:

For sustainable timber and timber products such as furniture and paper, FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification).
For fish from sustainable sea fishing systems, the Marine Stewardship Council.
For sustainable farming, the organic growing labels BioGro, AgriQuality Organic Standard and Demeter.
For carbon neutrality, carboNZero.
For ethical trading, the Fair Trade label.
For sustainable travel and tourism, QualmarkGreen and Green Globe 21.

Environmental Management System (EMS) ecolabels

These certifications give information about the producer’s management systems rather than the impacts of the product.

Enviro-Mark NZ – this certifies that businesses have put in-house procedures in place to meet health, safety and environmental standards. There are five levels of achievement – Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond. The top level corresponds with ISO 14001.
ISO 14001. This is not an ecolabel as such, but an international standard against which companies are independently assessed. It means that the company has good processes in place to measure, monitor and reduce impacts (it does not mean necessarily that environmental impacts have been reduced, or that they represent best international practice).

Other ecolabels

The best eco-labels are based on reputable, relevant and publicly available standards and are subject to regular conformance assessment by an independent auditor.

The Ministry of Economic Development's eco-label directory lists ecolabels that appear on products and services in New Zealand, providing summary information and links to owners’ websites. The listing of a label in this directory does not imply New Zealand government endorsement or approval.

For judging environmental claims the Commerce Commission's ‘Guidelines for Green Marketing’ [PDF 101 MB] are also useful.