List five benefits of endorsement labeling/green certification.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

First, it provides an independent standard about what makes a product or service more sustainable, and it avoids many problems associated with corporate greenwashing.

Second, certified products are the only ones legally allowed to exhibit the endorser’s logo, such as the Green Seal emblem illustrated in Figure 12.9. This enables products to legitimately “brand” themselves as green, giving manufacturers a competitive edge in the marketplace.

Third, it allows consumers to overcome information asymmetries. Individuals and small businesses often do not have the time or ability to evaluate the environmental implications of their purchasing decisions, and a third-party endorsement enables people to more easily make choices based on their environmental values.

Fourth, companies that want their products to be green can use third-party certifications as a way of guiding product attributes and performance specifications.

Fifth, because endorsement labeling is voluntary, it reduces the burden on government to make and enforce regulations.