Increasing global environmental awareness has created a demand for and the supply of green products. With many "green" product claims in the market, consumers are sometimes confused by their claims and some have doubts about their validity. To help consumers, it is essential to establish an authoritative, independent and publicly acceptable green (eco-) label scheme that identifies products that are more environmentally preferable than other similar products with the same functions in the market.

Eco-labelling schemes serve the afore-mentioned purpose as well as encourage the purchase of "greener" products/services with improved recyclability, reduced packaging, greater durability, and with higher recycled content if possible. Such schemes also rewards leadership and initiative in promoting environmental consumerism.

Product assessments are based on life cycle considerations from raw materials, manufacturing process, distribution and consumer use, to final disposal.

In Asia, countries such as China, Japan, Korea, India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore have already established their own eco-labelling schemes. The Green Council (GC) is committed to start the Hong Kong Green Label Scheme (HKGLS) in Hong Kong.

In establishing the standards, HKGLS draws from relevant international standards and is benchmarked with well-developed eco-labels to ensure credibility of the standards. An Advisory Committee, composed of members from the academia, industrial and commercial associations and environmental groups, oversees the policy and operation of the HKGLS.

As with the majority of eco labelling programs, HKGLS is an ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 14024⁽¹⁾ Type 1 label, which involves a third-party certification requiring considerations of life cycle impacts. Some of the key criteria contained in these standards also require compliance with applicable legislation.

⁽¹⁾ISO 14024 Environmental Labels and Declarations - Type I Environmental Labelling - Principles and Procedures.

For consumers, the benefits of an independent environmental label is that it can easily recognise products which are sensitive to environmental pressures whilst manufacturers, distributors, and marketers acquire the financial benefits of dealing in and producing environmentally preferable products, as indicated below :

(a) Effective Marketing Tool : A green label demonstrates a product's sound environmental performance and their suppliers' commitment to protect the environment. This improves corporate image, brand recognition and reputation for high product quality;

(b) A Sensible Cost Savings Move : Manufacturers' commitment to improve environmental performance in manufacturing processes generally leads to significant cost savings associated with effective resource use, waste minimization and recycling, and reduced business liability;

Besides financial benefits, a green label demonstrates suppliers' long-term commitment to improve environmental performance. In a broader sense, it is a positive move towards sustainable development.

In order to oversee the establishment and operation of the HKGLS as well as attract wider participation by the local community, an Advisory Committee comprising members from GC, HKPC, academics, industry, environment organisations and commercial sectors has been established. The Committee mainly advises on:

(a) Operational guidelines, product categories, and respective product environmental criteria;

(b) The HKGLS application and assessment mechanisms;

(c) Approval or disapproval of HKGLS applications; and

(d) Issues in connection with licensing or revoking the use of the HKGLS label.

Since the industry's participation in the HKGLS is conducive to the success of its implementation, relevant industrial associations in Hong Kong have been invited to support the Scheme through:

(a) Providing opinions and suggestions on various aspects of HKGLS such as the establishment of product categories and the associated criteria, application procedures and assessment mechanism from the industry's perspective; and

(b) Promoting the HKGLS to local industry members.

The functional relationship among the various organizations in the HKGLS is shown in the following schematic diagram:

Figure 1. Schematic Diagram of HKGLS Operation

In general, the mechanism for developing product environmental criteria for individual product categories is described as follows:

(a) Collection of Information
The following key information is collected to form the basis for establishing product environmental criteria:

(i) Relevant information of other green labelling schemes;
(ii) Market and technological data of the products;
(iii) Views/suggestions from interested parties such as the supporting organizations, trade associations, manufacturers, suppliers and environmental experts.

(b) Criteria Development
With the above information, the product environmental criteria are established by:

(i) Benchmarking with relevant criteria used in other established green labelling schemes, with focus on schemes that have adopted life cycle analysis (LCA) in their criteria development;

(ii) Using LCA approach to ensure applicability and that the environmental criteria used are related to various life cycle stages of the product including raw material acquisition, manufacturing, distribution, product use and disposal will be covered;

(iii) Reference to local applicable standards e.g. the Hong Kong SAR Government's energy efficiency label scheme.

(c) Criteria Review and Endorsement
The HKGLS is the final authority in deciding on the environmental criteria to be applied in the scheme.

Figure 2 presents the schematic procedures for selection of product categories and development of the associated criteria.

Figure 2. Procedure of Product Category Selection and Criteria Development

To consolidate the professional creditability of the HKGLS, the Green Council is working towards acquiring the status of an official accreditation body under the ISO/IEC Guide 65 General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems. The ISO Guide provides accreditation requirements for eco-labelling programs. Accreditation will be sought from the Hong Kong Certification Body Accreditation Scheme (HKCAS) under the Hong Kong Government Innovation and Technology Commission. Initially, the ISO Guide 65 will be applied only to the construction materials, consumer products and VOCs Emission Products.

Interested parties may contact us for the Addition of a New Product to be included in a green label product category. GC will review the need and appropriateness before determining whether the new product will be added to the Hong Kong Green Label Scheme.