World Ecolabel Day, a global campaign run by the Global Ecolabelling Network to raise awareness of products and services that are certified green, will be held next week.
Environmental Choice New Zealand (ECNZ) will mark the important place ecolabels have in kiwi business and society on the inaugural World Ecolabel Day (WED) on 25 October.
The Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN), of which ECNZ is a member, has started WED to celebrate ecolabel products and services.
ECNZ is one of four GEN members to create a video to celebrate and promote WED internationally.
The ECNZ video highlights the environmental integrity of ecolabels and looks at national trends that favour sustainable consumption.
GEN members around the world will share these videos with key partners, raising awareness of WED through active posting on social media and online blogging using the hashtag #WorldEcolabelDay. Information about ecolabels and WED will also be distributed to local schools, businesses and media.
Since ECNZ was established in 1990, the label has grown to cover around 1500 products and services with more than 50 businesses investing in ECNZ to verify their environmental claims.
Third-party verified ecolabels like ECNZ provide assurance that the products and services bearing the label have a positive environmental impact.
ECNZ general manager Francesca Lipscombe said there is a clear and positive shift in New Zealanders’ support for sustainable procurement practices.
“Many of our licensees have been loyal to the label for a long time and it’s just become a normal part of how they do business. Recent research also shows us that many New Zealanders are strongly in favour of companies that act responsibly towards the environment,” she says.
Results from the latest Better Futures survey by Colmar Brunton found 83 per cent of kiwis would stop buying a company’s products if they heard about them being unethical and 73 per cent said it was important to work for a company that was socially and environmentally responsible.
Lipscombe said WED is an opportunity to shine the spotlight on products and services that carry ecolabels.
“It’s very heartening to see a growing awareness from consumers about the products they buy. WED is about raising awareness and education around ecolabels and our video promotes the power of certified products and services to businesses and consumers,” she said.
