Archive for May, 2009
ANSI Works Towards Improving Product Standards
Posted on 18. May, 2009 by admin.
WASHINGTON — More than 340 people took part in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) recent workshop, “Toward Product Standards for Sustainability,” in an effort to come to consensus on what’s needed to improve and develop standards focused on sustainability issues.
The gathering in Arlington, Va., had 240 in-person attendees and more than 100 participating through a live webinar. Attendees represented government, industry, standards developing organizations, consortiums and consumers.
ANSI is working on a report to highlight the results of the conference, and has made all presentation materials available online.
Some of the key conclusions and take-aways include:
* One of the main needs is consistent and globally-recognized terminology so that consumers, standards developers, governments and industries all understand certain words to mean the same thing.
* Transparency is another main issue, with attendees agreeing that product labels or communication to consumers about the sustainable aspects of products need to be uniform and transparent. Also, standards need to be clearly written and easy to understand so that the standards can be viewed as reliable and product claims can be substantiated.
* Standards that address a single attribute and standards that address multiple attributes both found supporters. Those in favor of single-attribute standards said they reduce complexity and confusion; others said multiple-attribute standards could increase consumer confidence.
* Pros and cons exist for all type of standards development, whether it’s by government regulation, consensus among stakeholders or some other method. One possible solution would be a combination of standards, with government regulations setting minimum requirements and voluntary standards providing higher goals.
Source: GreenBiz Staff
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Green Becoming a ‘Tiebreaker’ in Shopping
Posted on 18. May, 2009 by admin.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Green product attributes are evolving into an important brand differentiator for consumers and can serve as a tiebreaker for shoppers evaluating similar products, according to results of a new study from the Grocery Manufacturers Association and Deloitte.
The organizations intercepted more than 6,400 consumers while shopping at 11 national chains and found more than half consider green attributes in their purchasing decisions. But there’s a big gap, however, between what they’re finding and actually buying. Less than half of the shoppers who looked for green products, for example, actually found them, and only 22 percent of those surveyed bought green products.
Although green attributes can sway shoppers, it’s not enough to put green products on the shelf, according to Brian Lynch, the director of sales and sales promotion at the Grocery Manufacturers Association.
“We have to better educate consumers and leverage in-store communication to make the sale,” Lynch said.
The survey, “Finding the Green in Today’s Shoppers: Sustainability Trends and New Shopper Insights,” separated shoppers into five broad categories: about 2 percent of the respondents in the survey were classified as “committed,” or those who buy based on sustainability attributes whenever possible; 18 percent said they are “proactive” and weigh environmental factors with other values most of the time; sustainable products “influence” 34 percent of respondents when all other things are equal. Read More
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BeGreen Carbon Impact Explorer
Posted on 18. May, 2009 by admin.
BeGreen, the carbon offset division of Green Mountain Energy Company, announced a new way to look at climate change. Today, they launched the BeGreen Carbon Impact Explorer—-an interactive tool that displays U.S. carbon emissions alongside renewable energy projects, like wind and solar facilities, that customers have helped to build in the past or are currently supporting now.
Since 1999, BeGreen’s customers have helped avoid over 4,900,000 metric tons of CO2, which is like taking over 870,000 cars off the road for one year or recycling over 24,000,000,000 aluminum cans. The Carbon Impact Explorer truly brings that impact to life.
Learn more by visiting www.begreennow.com/impact/
