Recently in FTC regulations of Environmental Marketing Category

Independent Certifiers: 
third party certifiers with a stake in ensuring the transparency and credibility represent the future of ecolabeling.

• Underwriters Laboratories, the product safety giants who has announced a new claims certification and standards setting service (www.ulenvironment.com)
• GreenGuard, the indoor air quality certifiers (www.greenguard.org/)  GREENGUARD Environmental Institute governs the GREENGUARD Certification Program
• Forest Stewardship Council "FSC certified" wood-based products ( www.fscus.org/news/index.php?article=506)
• USGBC, with green building standards and professional certifiers (www.usgbc.org)
• National Association of Home Builders  green building standards (www.nahbrc.org/greenguidelines/).
  
  Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/definitions/green-home-labels#ixzz0O6P982Sc
  
   

Government Certifiers
The Federal Government fills gaps not being filled by NGOs or the private sector to label critical industries such as organic food, energy and water-using products, and transportation.

U.S. EPA,  creators of 

• Energy Star label for energy efficiency appliances, electronics, lighting, office equipment, heating and cooling, and even houses (www.energystar.gov/)
• Design for Environment label for green chemistry (used in many cleaning products)
• Smart Way label for transportation
• Water Sense, for water-using products (www.epa.gov/watersense/index.htm)

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture  (USDA)

• Organic (Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) - National Organic Program (NOP) home page: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/)

U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy)

• Energy Star for energy efficiency
• 
  

The Public

• "trusted friends"
• "informed peers"

"The increased transparency that consumers are demanding these days - evidenced in ingredient disclosure, and access to the very farmers growing one's potatoes--will only fuel this trend. In the end, the power may rest with the people," says J. Ottman, Ottman Consulting.

Laboratory accreditation or certification

But certification goes beyond products.  It also affects the laboratories that evaluate products, chemicals, etc. 

The EPA also certifies laboratories through The NELAC Institute (TNI - National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference). The purpose of the organization is to foster the generation of environmental data of known and documented quality through an open, inclusive, and transparent process that is responsive to the needs of the community.    NELAC Institute homepage and standards from the following (http://www.nelac-institute.org/)

The Drinking Water Laboratory Certification Program, (http://www.epa.gov/safewater/labcert/index.html)

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): The National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP),   http://ts.nist.gov/ts/htdocs/210/214/214.htm  

Other laboratory accreditation programs are operated by:

American Association of Laboratory Accreditation   
http://www.a2la.org/

AOAC International
http://www.aoac.org

Eco-Seals, Seals-of-Approval and Certifications

Environmental seals-of-approval, eco-seals and certifications from third-party organizations imply that a product is environmentally superior to other products. Because such broad claims are difficult to substantiate, seals-of-approval should be accompanied by information that explains the basis for the award. If the seal-of-approval implies that a third party has certified the product, the certifying party must be truly independent from the advertiser and must have professional expertise in the area that is being certified.

The FTC analyzes third-party certification claims to ensure that they are substantiated and not deceptive. Third-party certification does not insulate an advertiser from Commission scrutiny or eliminate an advertiser's obligation to ensure for itself that the claims communicated by the certification are substantiated.

Federal Trade Commission:  Greenguides

Specificity

An environmental marketing claim should specify whether it refers to the product, the packaging or both, or just to a component of the product or its packaging.

A box of cereal is labeled "recycled package." The package consists of a paperboard box with a wax paper bag inside holding the cereal. By itself, the claim "recycled package" could apply to both the box and the bag. If only the box is recycled, the claim is deceptive. It should be qualified to say, for example, "recycled box."

A steel can that contains vegetables is labeled "recycled." No qualification is necessary for this claim because it is obvious to consumers that the can is recycled-not the vegetables.

Qualifications (that is, disclosures or explanations) pertaining to an environmental claim should be clear, prominent and understandable. Clarity can be achieved through the size of the type face, proximity of the qualification to the claim being qualified, and absence of contrary language that could undercut effectiveness.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeks to prevent deception and unfairness in the marketplace. The FTC Act gives the Commission the power to bring law enforcement actions against false or misleading marketing claims, including environmental or "green" marketing claims. The FTC issued its Environmental Guides, often referred to as the "Green Guides," in 1992, and revised them most recently in 1998. The Guides indicate how the Commission will apply Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices, to environmental marketing claims.

Federal Trade commission:  Facts for Business

Substantiation

All marketers making express or implied claims about the attributes of their product, package or service must have substantiation, that is, a reasonable basis for their claims. When it comes to environmental claims, a reasonable basis often may require competent and reliable scientific evidence, which is defined as tests, analyses, research, studies or other evidence based on the expertise of professionals in the relevant area conducted and evaluated in an objective way by qualified people using procedures generally accepted in the profession to yield accurate and reliable results.

Substantiation is a vital (and expensive) part of product development...and marketing. Substantiation is best built into the product development process by using verifiable or certified parts and ingredients; using trackable and measurable processes; and keeping good records of all sources, checking out Material Standard Data Sheets; and  having product managers check marketing materials before they are finalized.  ALL marketing messages: packaging, advertising, public relations and news have an impact on compliance with FTC regulations.

The US Federal Trade Commission  looks at all advertising from the consumer's perspective: what message does the advertising actually convey to consumers? The Environmental Guides explain how consumers are likely to interpret environmental marketing claims so that marketers can avoid making false or misleading claims. The Guides give environmental claims the meaning that consumers give them, not necessarily the technical or scientific definition of terms. Also, they do not establish standards for environmental performance or prescribe testing protocols.

April 28, 2008
Contact: Carol Goldberg (202) 265-7337

NEW JERSEY MODEL FOR PRIVATIZED TOXIC CLEAN-UPS FAILS AUDITS

Serious Violations Found in More than Two-Thirds of Audited Massachusetts Sites

Trenton — More than two out of three privately supervised toxic clean-ups in a Massachusetts program that New Jersey wants to adopt failed audits with serious violations, according to records released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Despite these red flags, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is rushing to embrace further privatization of its troubled toxic remediation program as a cost-free panacea.

PEER argues that DEP has an unrealistic view of its plan to license private sector consultants to replace state employees in overseeing remediation of contaminated sites program by overlooking –

• The need to hire new state employees to license and oversee the private consultants. DEP is under a hiring freeze and does not have surplus employees to assign to run this new program;
• Privatization does not mean the program is free. DEP has disclosed no plan to plan for financing the program nor is it clear how the state will save any money in its operation; and
• Perhaps most importantly, DEP has failed to prioritize any of its more than 16,000 toxic sites – something DEP is legally required to do and has promised to do for the past two years. Without a ranking system, public health will remain secondary to developer interest in deciding where to invest scarce resources.

Wal-Mart sustainability scorecard standards
15%	will be based on Greenhouse Gas (GHG)/CO2 per ton of Production
15%	will be based on Material Value
15%	will be based on Product/Package Ratio
15%	will be based on Cube Utilization
10%	will be based on Transportation
10%	will be based on Recycled Content
10%	will be based on Recovery Value
5%	will be based on Renewable Energy
5%	will be based on Innovation

Sustainability Planning Resources:

Design Guidelines Available Online

• SPC – Design Guideline

• Association of Post Consumer Plastics has a design for recyclability guideline

• FTC Guidelines

Complying with Environmental Marketing Guides:
FTC Publication Environmental Marketing Claims.

This article provides excellent details on legal approaches to environmental claims: Lawpublish.com

The FTC looks at all advertising from the ... standards for environmental performance or prescribe testing protocols.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeks to prevent deception and unfairness in the marketplace. The FTC Act gives the Commission the power to bring law enforcement actions against false or misleading marketing claims, including environmental or "green" marketing claims. The FTC issued its Environmental Guides, often referred to as the "Green Guides," in 1992, and revised them most recently in 1998. The Guides indicate how the Commission will apply Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices, to environmental marketing claims.

Claims must provide

• Substantiation
• Specificity

Eco-Seals, Seals-of-Approval and Certifications

Environmental seals-of-approval, eco-seals and certifications from third-party organizations imply that a product is environmentally superior to other products. Because such broad claims are difficult to substantiate, seals-of-approval should be accompanied by information that explains the basis for the award. If the seal-of-approval implies that a third party has certified the product, the certifying party must be truly independent from the advertiser and must have professional expertise in the area that is being certified.

Symbols

Many consumers are confused about what they can recycle in their communities because so many products display the universal recycling symbol. Often called the "three-chasing-arrows" or "Mobius loop," this image is likely to convey that the packaging is both "recyclable" and "recycled." Unless both messages can be substantiated, the claim should make clear whether the reference is to the package's recyclability or its recycled content.

National Center for Environmental Economics

NCEE analyzes relationships between the economy, environmental health, and environmental pollution control. This includes:

• Economic benefits and costs
• Economic incentives
• Size, composition, and effects of the pollution control industry
• Risk assessment data used in economic analyses

SOURCE: EPA Natinal Center for Environmental Economics

Association of Environmental and Resource Economists

AERE provides many forums for exchanging ideas relevant to the allocation and management of natural and environmental resources.

AERE Business Office
Marilyn M. Voigt
AERE Business Office
1616 P Street NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: 202-328-5125
Facsimile: 202-939-3460
voigt@rff.org
http://www.aere.org

The FTC is researching updates to their "environmental marketing guidelines" and the first workshop in January 2008 will focus on how companies market carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates.

The announcement comes a week after the release of a report from TerraChoice Environmental Marketing showing that the vast majority of green marketing claims are inaccurate or inappropriate.

The firm researched more than 1,000 consumer products with environmental claims and found that all but one violated at least one of the report's "Six Sins of Greenwashing."

The Federal Trade Commission is requesting comments on the Green Guides in regard to their costs, benefits, and effectiveness.

Current FTC Regulations for Environmental Claims

Issued in 1992, the FTC Guidelines for Environmental Marketing Claims or "Green Guides" do not constitute a labeling system as such, but they are designed to have an effect on labeling. The guidelines are intended to prevent false or misleading use of advertising claims such as "environmentally friendly," "degradable," and "recyclable." Confusion over the meaning of such terms affected not only consumers but also companies, who were concerned about lawsuits over their environmental claims.

The Guides outlined four general principles for environmental claims:

• qualifications and disclosures should be sufficiently clear and conspicuous to prevent deception;
• claims should make clear whether they apply to the product, packaging, or just a component of either;
• claims should not overstate environmental benefits; and
• comparative claims should be presented in such a way that the basis for comparison is clear.

The guides also addressed claims concerning

• environmental friendliness
• degradability
• compostability
• recyclability
• recycled content
• source reduction
• refillability, and
• ozone friendliness

More information about the FTC Guidelines