Commission Looks for Common Definition

The European Commission has published a report entitled Building the Market for Green Products highlighting the absence of a scientifically based definition at the European level for green products or companies. If a company, above all in the food sector, wishes to obtain a label or simply certification in order to see its environmental performance recognised in different EU member states, there are enormous obstacles, starting with administrative and registration costs. Ecolabel, which Europe recognises, is not applied to food sector companies. In other words, it is easy to say green, as can be seen by the many, 435 in 197 countries at present, due to the initiatives of national governments and private institutions. The risk, which is presented in the document, is that anyone can receive endorsement without real controls. The hope is that Europe has taken the first steps towards new legislation, with the inclusion of food companies, in that the trials put forward by the Commission together with producers have also involved the food and agriculture sector.