Final Report on the Assessment of Different
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE GENERAL ENVIRONMENT Directorate A – Green Economy ENV.A.1 – Eco-Innovation & Circular Economy Assessment of different communication vehicles for providing Environmental Footprint information Request for Specific Services for the implementation of the Framework Contract no. EAHC-2011-CP-01 Final Report Authors: Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva, Pietro Tornese, Giuseppe A. Veltri and George Gaskell PRESENTED IN CONSORTIUM: BY LSE & PARTNERS Assessment of different communication vehicles for providing Environmental Footprint information Acknowledgements We would like to thank the Technical Secretariats of all pilots for their participation in the Pilot phase of this project: Batteries and accumulators; Decorative paints; Hot and cold water supply pipes; Household detergents; Intermediate paper product; IT equipment; Leather; Metal sheets; Footwear; Photovoltaic electricity generation; Stationery; Thermal insulation; T-shirts; Uninterruptible Power Supply; Beer; Coffee; Dairy; Feed for food-producing animals; Marine fish; Meat (bovine, pigs, sheep); Olive oil; Packed water; Pasta; Pet food (cats & dogs); Wine. Ewelina Marek for her contribution at the beginning of the study. Lastly, we would like to thank DG ENV, particularly our EC project officer Imola Bedo for her detailed and relevant comments that helped us improve the final version of this report, as well as Michele Galatola and Benedetta Nucci for their ongoing support throughout the project. Disclaimer This report was produced in response to the Request for Specific Services for the implementation of the Framework Contract no EAHC-2011-CP-01 for the provision of an “Assessment of different communication vehicles for providing Environmental Footprint information”. The content of this report represents the views of the contractor and is its sole responsibility; it can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission or other body of the European Union. The European Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this report, nor does it accept responsibility for any use made by third parties thereof. More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). 2 Assessment of different communication vehicles for providing Environmental Footprint information Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. 10 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 13 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY .......................................................................................................................... 13 1.2 METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK ..................................................................................................................... 14 1.3 STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT ........................................................................................................................... 15 2 SUPPORT TO PILOTS, ACTIVITIES AND ASSESSMENT ......................................................... 17 2.1 OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................................................ 17 2.2 PILOTS SUPPORT .............................................................................................................................................. 18 2.2.1 Wiki space ............................................................................................................................................. 18 2.2.2 Conference calls .................................................................................................................................. 19 2.2.3 Webinars ................................................................................................................................................ 19 2.3 PILOTS ACTIVITIES .......................................................................................................................................... 20 2.4 PILOTS COMMUNICATION VEHICLES ............................................................................................................... 21 2.5 ANALYSIS OF THE PILOT TESTS ....................................................................................................................... 22 2.6 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE PILOT PHASE .................................................................................................. 24 3 STAKEHOLDERS’ PERSPECTIVES ..................................................................................................... 25 3.1 RETAILERS: WORKSHOP .................................................................................................................................. 25 3.1.1 Background and objectives ............................................................................................................ 25 3.1.2 Complementary tests........................................................................................................................ 25 3.1.3 The role of retailers and the environmental footprint .......................................................... 26 3.1.4 Remarks ................................................................................................................................................. 27 3.2 CONSUMERS: FOCUS GROUPS ........................................................................................................................ 27 3.2.1 Background and objectives ............................................................................................................ 27 3.2.2 Methodology ......................................................................................................................................... 27 3.2.3 Environmental Footprint: perceptions, experiences and knowledge .............................. 28 3.2.4 Influence of the different communication vehicles for providing environmental footprint information ......................................................................................................................................... 33 3.3 SMES: ONLINE SURVEY .................................................................................................................................. 41 3.3.1 Background, objectives and methodology ................................................................................ 41 3.3.2 SMEs characteristics.......................................................................................................................... 42 3.3.3 Findings .................................................................................................................................................. 44 3.4 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE STAKEHOLDER TESTING ................................................................................ 59 4 WEIGHTING EXERCISE: EXPERT AND LAY KNOWLEDGE ..................................................... 62 4.1 BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................................................... 62 4.2 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................ 63 4.2.1 Design ..................................................................................................................................................... 63 4.2.2 Sample ................................................................................................................................................... 69 4.2.3 Fieldwork ............................................................................................................................................... 74 4.3 FINDINGS ......................................................................................................................................................... 75 4.4 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE WEIGHTING EXERCISE ................................................................................... 79 5 ONLINE EXPERIMENTS: CERTIFICATION, WILLINGNESS TO PAY AND ECOLABEL 80 5.1 BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................................................... 80 5.2 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................ 81 5.2.1 Study on Certification and Trust .................................................................................................. 81 5.2.2 Study on Willingness to Pay and PEF ......................................................................................... 84 5.2.3 Study on Ecolabel............................................................................................................................... 86 3 Assessment of different communication vehicles for providing Environmental Footprint information 5.3 FINDINGS ......................................................................................................................................................... 87 5.3.1 Study on Certification and Trust .................................................................................................. 87 5.3.2 Study on Willingness to Pay ..........................................................................................................