If change toward a sustainable economy is to be achieved consumers will need to trust that the products they choose offer real environmental benefits. The European-wide Ecolabel scheme is a key way to provide such assurance and we are delighted to manage the EU Ecolabel scheme in the UK, in collaboration with our partners TUV SüD. In this capacity, as well as assessing Ecolabel applications, we are regularly involved in discussions with industry and at the European level on developing new criteria for the EU Ecolabel and Green Public Procurement (GPP). Recently, we have undertaken a feasibility study for DG Environment on developing an EU Ecolabel for food and feed products.

The shift towards a resource-efficient, low-carbon economy is essential for long term sustainable growth. As well as protecting the environment, resource efficiency offers significant opportunities to improve businesses’ bottom line by driving down costs, opening up new markets through innovation, and enhancing reputations and brand value. All businesses can save money by using resources such as water, energy and raw materials more efficiently. For the UK it is estimated that 2% of UK business profits per year may be lost through inefficient use of resources, saving around £23bn per year.

The move towards a zero waste economy has an important role in consuming natural resources at a more sustainable rate and combating climate change. Key aspects of this approach are diverting waste from landfill through increasing recycling and recovery, and preventing the generation of waste in the first place. On the one hand, policy is useful in overcoming market failures and ensuring the efficient operation of markets. On the other hand, however, there is a move to deregulate some recycling markets with the development of end-of-waste criteria.

A major priority of the Government is to move towards a zero waste economy, and an important element of this will be to encourage and increase waste prevention, through sustainable consumption and production. Oakdene Hollins has helped Defra with a current policy project on waste prevention (WR1403) which will input both to the current review of waste policy and to the preparation of a National Waste Prevention Programme as required under the Waste Framework Directive. Our scoping study maps the existing evidence base related to business waste prevention, and will help Defra to focus on priority gaps in evidence that need to be filled by subsequent studies. The WR1403 report is presented as a series of modules, and is available from the Defra website via the link below.