The value of sustainability labels on consumer products - by Arjen Wals

Often the media look for a sustainability expert and then they call professors with sustainability in their portfolio. They probably have a long list and keep calling until someone picks up the phone finally... They do not always understand that my expertise is mostly in education in relation to sustainability, and I often find myself having to explain that developing environmental and ecological literacy and developing certain qualities and competencies in people, are essential for building a more sustainable future. Journalists often are looking for more instrumental approaches to sustainable development like subsidies, fines, new policies, rules and regulations and want to know which ones are the most effective. But that is not my expertise. So it is always a bit challenging to boil the questions they have down to one to do with education, learning and capacity building and for the journalist to capture the answer in a crisp and clear way without losing the reader.

This time newspaper NRC wanted to hear my thoughts on the value of sustainability labels in showing consumers (I rather use ' citizens') what products or more sustainable in comparison to others. We talked about the risk of labelling overload and fatigue (too many labels, people might give up), the risk of using labels as a marketing tool without a transparent systems with good indicators underneath (greenwashing), the importance of finding ways that can nudge people, even if only slowly, to change their behaviour and lifestyles and showing it has positive impact (agency and hope), and finally, the importance of having eco-literate and critical citizens that can see through manipulation and intrinsically want to do what is right for people and planet. To realize the latter, quality education is essential. The paper also spoke to research Gustav Haan who was quite critical of sustainability labels. Read here the full article (In Dutch).