Lesson 2: Important labels

There are several important environmental certificates and labels that businesses can pursue to demonstrate their commitment to environmental sustainability. Here are some notable examples:

• Fairtrade: The Fairtrade certification focuses on ensuring fair and ethical trade practices for producers in developing countries. It guarantees fair prices, social development, and environmental sustainability. The Fairtrade label signifies that a product has been produced and traded in accordance with rigorous fair trade standards.
• Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Certified: Cradle to Cradle certification assesses a product’s environmental and social performance throughout its lifecycle. It evaluates factors such as material health, recyclability, renewable energy use, water stewardship, and social responsibility. C2C Certified products aim to be regenerative and environmentally friendly.
• Organic Certification: Organic certifications, such as USDA Organic in the United States or EU Organic in the European Union, ensure that agricultural products are produced without synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Organic certification guarantees adherence to specific organic farming standards.
• ISO 14001: ISO 14001 is an international standard for environmental management systems. It provides a framework for organizations to manage and improve their environmental performance, reduce their environmental impact, and comply with environmental regulations.

These are just a few examples of important environmental certificates and labels. The specific certifications applicable to a business may vary depending on the industry, location, and sustainability goals. It is important to research and choose certifications that align with an organization’s values, operations, and target market.

In the course of the market analysis, you can also get an overview of the labels and certificates commonly used in the industry.

Especially at the beginning, a certification represents a high time and cost factor. Therefore, the decision when to achieve which certification or labels should be well informed and planned.

The lists below give you an overview of different labels and certificates:

• https://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/pdf/ecolabels.pdf
• https://www.ecolabelindex.com/ecolabels/?st=region=europe

Especially in the food sector, food producers tend to develop standards that are higher than established label standards and use that for marketing.