Tag: sustainable consumption

Environmentally-friendly goods are often overpriced for many consumers – and as the economic crisis continues to bite, policymakers are mulling tax incentives to make green shopping more affordable.

"Everything has to rethought in terms of the water problem," Austrian centre-right MEP Richard Seeber told EurActiv in an interview, commenting on the unanimous adoption of his report on water scarcity and drought by Parliament's environment committee yesterday (9 September).

Labelling schemes designed to shift consumer preferences towards more ecologically-friendly goods have had a limited effectiveness and need to be used in combination with other measures, according to panellists who debated the issue during a recent EBS workshop in Brussels, moderated by EurActiv.

A new report by the WWF has shown that the EU is continuing to consume its natural resources far faster than it can renew them, although the level of performance between different member states is widely diverging.  

The EU's Eco-design Directive seeks to make the design of energy-using products such as hairdryers, computers, fridges or office equipment more environmentally friendly. In future, energy performance requirements can also be imposed on products which have an indirect impact on energy consumption during use, such as window frames and water taps.

Humans currently consume 20% more natural resources than the earth can produce, according to a WWF report. But the 'ecological footprint' concept underlying the study is disputed by many specialists.