Waxman-Markey: Is a National Carbon Label in the Pipeline?
Emily Pugliese on August 24th, 2009
In the Waxman-Markey bill (HR-2454, Section 274) is a provision for a product carbon disclosure program. The program would be voluntary and include a carbon content label intended to help consumers understand the carbon footprint of the products they buy. I know, it sounds great, but even if the bill were approved tomorrow the program could take over 4 years to implement due to the approx. 18 month feasibility study and up to 36 months to enact the program. Plus, it’s really nothing new, our CarbonFree® Certified Product Program has been up and running for years.
The CarbonFree® Certified Label, the first in the U.S. for carbon neutrality, was created in response to consumer demand for transparent, credible and readily accessible information about the environmental impact of the product at the point of purchase. Like the proposed program, our program requires that CarbonFree® Certified products undergo an intensive life-cycle assessment (LCA) to calculate the emissions resulting from each phase in the life of the product including manufacturing, shipping, and usage. What distinguishes our label is that once the carbon footprint is calculated, and reduced where possible, the remaining footprint is offset, creating a carbon neutral product.
Motorola, Anvil, and Domino Sugar are among the growing list of businesses who have partnered with us to be able to offer their customers a CarbonFree® Certified product. The label brings carbon neutrality, responsibility and action on global warming to the heart of a business, its products and customers. Plus, it’s available today! To learn more about the CarbonFree® products or the certification process click here.
To read the full text of this section, go here: http://www.seia.org/galleries/pdf/hr2454_house.pdf
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Having a label disclosing a product's carbon footprint is just as important as having a standard label indicating biobased content not only of the product but also its packaging material. The USDA's BioPreferred voluntary labeling program will be a great help for consumers to easily identify these biobased products in the market. At the same time, businesses creating or selling biobased products will have a marketing boost. Perhaps the USDA should also include LCA in their requirements. – http://www.biopreferred.gov