Supplementary memorandum by Procter &
Gamble
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
FOR CONSUMER
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
AND ECOLABELS
We believe that all forms of consumer environmental
information, regardless of approach, should be considered with
the following principles:
—
Promote innovation. Ecolabels
or Environmental Claims that have criteria based on an evaluation
of current products on the market, tend to reward current technologies.
Such Ecolabels/Claims may represent a barrier
to future innovation if they do not holistically examine the product
and contributions from all its life cycle phases and support/promote
continuous innovation.
—
Should define the desired direction for improvement,
but not the means to get there.
—
Deliver meaningful environmental improvements based
on a holistic examination of the produce and contributions from
all life cycle phases.
—
Transparency: The criteria
or basis for claims for Ecolabels should be clear and publicly
available.
—
Non-discriminatory: Ecolabel/claims
must not favour local products without scientific justification,
nor deny equivalent competitive opportunities to imports.
—
Truthful: Environmental
labels/claims must not be presented in a manner that overstates
the environmental attribute or benefits, expressly or by implication.
—
Based on Sound Science:
All forms of ecolabels/claims must be supported by scientific
evidence, using methods accepted across the scientific and technical
community.
—
Substantiated: There must
be a reasonable and traceable basis for verifying the Ecolabel
or environmental claim.
—
Not misleading to consumers: The information provided
must be non-trivial and relevant to both the consumer/stakeholder
and to environmental protection.
March 2008
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