由企業角度研究碳足跡標籤的導入:以宏碁與泰山為例 - 政大學術集成

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(1)國立政治大學 National Chengchi University. 企業管理學系. 立. 碩士論文政治 THESIS ON. 大. ‧ 國. 學 ‧. 由企業角度研究碳足跡標籤的導入-以宏碁與泰山為例 Implementing Carbon Footprint Labelling Scheme from A Business Perspective: Company Acer and Taisun, al Taiwan-based companies as examples iv. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. Ch. n U engchi. 指導教授：李易諭博士研究生：吳思頤中華民國 100 年 7 月 20 日.

(2) DEDICATION I thank my parents for giving me the love, understanding and support for my decision to return to Taiwan for my MBA education. It was an exciting decision for me personally, but it required unselfish support from both of my parents. I thank them for supporting my decision despite the countless days they have to be there without me. I also thank Dr.Yih-Yuh Lee, for having given me precious chances to grow. 政治大. and meet with accomplished seniors whom I can learn from, and also for inviting me. 立. over to his house for gathering with other student during festivals. The care he has. ‧ 國. 學. given me is forever marked in my heart.. ‧. Thank Dr.P.D. Huang And Dr.Niven Huang for organizing the CSE. sit. y. Nat. competition and guiding students to see visions from all over the world and letting. io. al. er. others see us. The vision I have seen through the competition and its relevant events. n. inspired me to devote myself in and see the importance of sustainable development.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Thank all the professors who have led me into new thinking and shared their insight with me. Lastly, thank Jamy Lin for leading me back to Miao Chan (妙禪) Shi Fu (Master) and giving me his encompassing love. Now I realize my return to Taiwan was the path bringing me back to Miao Chan Shi Fu. As I follow the four tasks, I realize my wisdom is being unearthed and what my mission for this life is. Everything is now connected and clear.. 2.

(3) Thank Jia-Chun Chen, Tina Wu, Winnie Chen, Lisa El-Himn, Anny Yang, and Auntie Qiu, Zen Chou, and all the other friends on the path of meditation and start up for being there for me whenever and giving me the continuous support.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 3.

(4) ABSTRACT As consumers become conscious of the impacts of their purchase decision on the environment, environmental friendly products become increasingly popular. By indicating the amount of carbon dioxide produced and emitted throughout a product’s life cycle, from material acquisition to manufacturing to consumption, carbon footprint label give consumers the information to make earth-friendly purchase decisions.. Carbon footprint label also makes consumers the driver of a more. 治政大 to increase the competitiveness of products. 立. sustainable future by incentivizing businesses to make lower GHG-content products. Carbon footprint label is becoming a popular practice around the world.. ‧ 國. 學. Taiwan is also learning and doing carbon footprint labelling.. This dissertation. ‧. investigates how carbon footprint labelling is done in advanced countries including. sit. y. Nat. the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and Japan and multinational. io. al. er. companies including Walkers, Walmart and Casino Group. Then it investigates how. n. carbon footprint labelling is done in Taiwan and how Taiwan businesses approach carbon footprint labelling.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Two companies of different industry were interviewed to gain an in-depth understanding of how and why Taiwan businesses implement carbon footprint labelling. From the interviews, insights of the motivation, project planning, execution and questions encountered during the implementation of carbon footprint labelling were revealed. The dissertation then concludes by discussing the limitations that happened during the research and the suggestions for the development of Taiwan’s carbon footprint label.. 4.

(5) Table of Contents DEDICATION ......................................................................................................................... 2 ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................ 5 LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................................. 6 LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 8 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4. RESEARCH MOTIVATION .......................................................................................... 8 VALUE OF CARBON FOOTPRINT ............................................................................. 11 RESEARCH PURPOSE .............................................................................................. 21 RESEARCH PROCESS FLOW CHART ........................................................................ 22. CHAPTER 2: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ........................................................ 23 2.1.1 2.1.2. 政治大. Carbon footprint label ....................................................................................... 23 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) ............................................................................. 24. 立. CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................ 65 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................................... 65 INTERVIEW OUTLINE .............................................................................................. 66. ‧ 國. 學. 3.1 3.2. CHAPTER 4: INDUSTRY REVIEW .................................................................................. 68. ‧. CHAPTER 5: CASE ............................................................................................................. 73. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. 5.1 ACER ...................................................................................................................... 73 5.1.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 73 5.1.2 Stage 1: Motivation............................................................................................ 74 5.1.3 Stage 2: Project Planning.................................................................................. 76 5.1.4 Stage 3: Execution ............................................................................................. 79 5.1.5 Stage 4: Difficulties ........................................................................................... 81 5.1.6 Stage 5: Achievement ......................................................................................... 86 5.1.7 Opportunities ..................................................................................................... 87 5.2 TAISUN ................................................................................................................... 90 5.2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 90 5.2.2 Stage 1: Motivation............................................................................................ 91 5.2.3 Stage 2: Project Planning.................................................................................. 92 5.2.4 Stage 3: Execution ............................................................................................. 96 5.2.5 Stage 4: Difficulties ........................................................................................... 99 5.2.6 Stage 5: Achievement ....................................................................................... 104 5.2.7 Future Plan ...................................................................................................... 106 5.3 CASE CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 108. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 112 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................... 120.

(6) List of Figures FIGURE.1.1 THREE CIRCLES MAKE UP BUSINESS ...................................................... 11 FIGURE.1.2 FORCES DRIVING IMPLEMENTATION OF CARBON FOOTPRINT LABELLING SCHEME ......................................................................................................... 17 FIGURE.2.1 TAIWAN’S CARBON FOOTPRINT LABEL EXTRACTED FROM TAIWAN PRODUCT CARBON FOOTPRINT WEBSITE, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ADMINISTRATION .............................................................................................................. 24 FIGURE.2.2 WHAT IS THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF PRODUCTS BY JAPAN TRADE AND INDUSTRY OF MINISTRY OF ECONOMY.............................................................. 27 FIGURE.2.3 REGISTRATION PROCESS OF CARBON TRUST’S CARBON REDUCTION LABEL ............................................................................................................ 31 FIGURE.2.4 ACTUAL CARBON REDUCTION LABEL ON JUICE ................................. 34 FIGURE.2.5 CARBON REDUCTION LABEL BY THE CARBON TRUST ...................... 35. 治政 FIGURE.2.7 REGISTRATION PROCESS FOR CARBONFREE 大 LABEL .......................... 39 立CARBONFREE LABELLED PRODUCTS ......................... 41 FIGURE.2.8 EXAMPLES OF FIGURE.2.6 THE CARBONFREE LABEL BY CARBONFUND ....................................... 39. ‧ 國. 學. FIGURE.2.9 REGISTRATION OF CARBON FOOTPRINT LABEL .................................. 45 FIGURE.2.10 IMPLEMENTATION OF JAPAN CFP........................................................ 47 FIGURE.2.11 APPLICATION OF CARBON FOOTPRINT LABEL ................................ 48. ‧. FIGURE.2.12 CARBON FOOTPRINT BROCHURE ......................................................... 49. y. Nat. FIGURE.2.13 FRANCE’S INDICE CARBONE ................................................................. 63. sit. FIGURE.5.1 REGISTRATION OF TAIWAN’S CARBON FOOTPRINT LABEL ............. 70. al. er. io. FIGURE.5.2 ACER ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE.................................................... 74. n. FIGURE.5.3 ORGANIZATION CHART OF TAISUN ......................................................... 90. Ch. i n U. v. FIGURE.5.4 TAISUN BUSINESS DEPARTMENTS ........................................................... 91. engchi. FIGURE.5.5 GHG EMISSION AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF LIFE CYCLE OF TWIST WATER 94 FIGURE.5.6 TAISUN TWIST WATER ................................................................................ 95 FIGURE.5.7 THE GUITAR MADE OF TWIST WATER BOTTLE .................................... 99. 6.

(7) List of Tables TABLE.2.1 COMPANIES THAT HAVE PARTICIPATED IN CARBON TRUST’S CARBON FOOTPRINT LABELLING PROJECT ................................................................ 32 TABLE.2.2 LIST OF COMPANIES THAT HAVE THE CARBONFREE LABEL ........... 38 TABLE.2.3 LIST OF COMPANIES THAT HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THE PILOT PROJECT: 50 TABLE.5.1 COST COMPOSITION OF TWIST WATER .................................................. 97 TABLE.5.2 COMPARISON BETWEEN TAISUN TWIST WATER AND COCA COLA’S SHUI SEN HUO ................................................................................................................... 101 TABLE.6.1 SWOT ANALYSIS OF CARBON FOOTPRINT........................................... 111 TABLE.5.3 COMPARISON OF ACER AND TAISUN’S CARBON FOOTPRINT LABEL IMPLEMENTATION: .......................................................................................................... 112. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 7.

(8) Chapter 1: Introduction Research Motivation and Purpose 1.1 Research Motivation Global warming has become clearly the greatest threat that humans are faced with. Numerous mechanisms have attempted to alleviate the worsening situation, including the development of trade mechanism, system and operation improvement and other new green solutions. The efforts mostly come from governments and. 政治大. businesses; however, the greatest driver of economy is the consumers.. 立. How do consumers play their roles in a world of changing climate and. ‧ 國. 學. economy? As major constituents of the society, consumers' voice is what manoeuvres. ‧. businesses. Through what kind of mechanism can the society engage consumers with the entire value chain and contribute to sustainable development? Businesses interact. y. Nat. er. io. sit. with consumers through selling their products and it is through this interaction, businesses hear consumers. Therefore, the kind of products businesses offer and the. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. kind of image that businesses project is key determinants to a business's success.. engchi. With the elevating awareness of climate change, consumers are taking more considerations into their purchase decision. Other than price and quality, the new factor influencing consumers' choice is green-ness. Therefore, in addition to the pursuit of high quality and low cost, the new goal for businesses is to achieve the former two goals sustainably. Both quality and cost can be reflected by the product's physical features, such as competitive price, delicate packaging, advanced specifications, however, there is barely any way to reflect a business's performance in green-ness.. 8.

(9) Hence, a communication tool must be developed in order to let businesses show their commitment in sustainable development. Carbon footprint label is the tool that consumers can see and evaluate when making purchase decisions and is what company uses to demonstrate its green-ness. Carbon footprint labelling is the practice of putting emission related information onto products' label, informing consumers of the total amount of carbon dioxide that will be emitted at the end of the entire life cycle of the product. Product life cycle is the new concept moving beyond emission associated with production, but further includes emission associated with material. 治政大 and resources needed to Material acquisition stage includes the process 立. acquisition, post-production and post-consumption.. intensive input and so is electricity.. 學. ‧ 國. produce the raw material, for example, electricity and fertilizer. Fertilizer is a CO 2 Post-production emission happens during. ‧. consumption, and disposal. Disposal emission occurs when product gets thrown away,. y. Nat. and needs to be processed either into the recycling stream or the elimination stage. al. er. io. sit. through incineration which further produces more CO2. Product life cycle concept takes into account of all the emission throughout the product's entire value chain to. n. v i n Ch look at carbon emission and sustainability a holistic point of view. e n gfrom chi U. By looking. at carbon emission from this perspective, businesses can get new inspirations on how to improve product design and move towards sustainability. Therefore, carbon footprint label is the communication tool allowing businesses to demonstrate its competitive edge, consumers to make wiser choices and businesses to continue to improve on their products and services to better meet the demands of their consumers. As businesses begin to implement carbon footprint label onto their products, others who have not started the practice will lose out the battle eventually. This thesis hopes to serve as a reference for businesses wanting to initiate. 9.

(10) the carbon footprint labelling practice as this global trend becomes a standard. This paper differs from environmental related researches in the way that this paper looks at carbon footprint labelling from a strategic approach rather than a technical approach. The technical approach examines the measurement of carbon emission at different stages of the product's life cycle. This paper does not discuss how to measure carbon emission but discusses the considerations that businesses take at different stage of the implementing process from a strategic perspective and how carbon footprint labelling is done world-wide. Starting from the initial driving force of the carbon foot printing. 治政大 complementary marketing the practice, then the project design, execution steps, 立. project, this paper investigates the various factors motivating companies to implement. strategy development, performance evaluation and reinvention and improvement of. ‧ 國. 學. products.. ‧. Two companies of different industry are investigated to provide insight and. sit. y. Nat. comparison of the considerations and steps taken during the implementation of carbon. io. al. er. footprint labelling scheme. Acer and Taisun have been selected as the subjects. These two companies differ in industry and business model, products vary in. n. v i n Ccomposition, complexity, value chain varies in play different roles and as a h e n g ccompanies hi U result different approach and considerations. Acer, the world's number one supplier of PC, has a value chain mostly composed of suppliers attributed to its OEM business model. The manufacturing and resourcing areas of Acer are outsourced to different suppliers and partners. As a result, Acer plays a consultative and mentoring role in the carbon footprint assessment process. Furthermore, because of the complexity of the products, the carbon footprint assessment will be more complex than that of a bottle of water, as in the case of Taisun. Another difference comes from the high-tech nature of electronic goods where rapid technology advancement affects product. 10.

(11) performance and consumer preference to a high extent; therefore, product life time is shorter than other consumer goods. Tai sun, a major player in the food and drinks industry, has recently released a series of environmental friendly products, most acknowledged is the popular Twist water. As a maker of food and drinks itself, Taisun is directly involved in the carbon footprint assessment and labelling process. Because of the simplicity of the product, the product life time will be longer than that of electronic goods. These product and business model difference results in different approach to implement carbon footprint labelling scheme.. 政治大 Carbon footprint label 立offers both monetary and intangible value to businesses.. 1.2 Value of Carbon Footprint. ‧ 國. 學. This section discusses the numerous benefits of carbon footprint label.. The most. important strength of business is being able to hear the voice of consumers and align. ‧. business capabilities with the commitment declared to consumers. The three circles. Nat. sit. y. that make up a business are voice of consumers, business capabilities and. n. al. er. io. commitment to consumers. The degree of overlap of the three circles determines the degree of success of a business.. Figure.1.1. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Three circles make up business. 11.

(12) With increasing awareness of climate change, consumers are demanding for new business practices and products with lower environmental impacts. The new need challenges businesses’ capabilities to deliver products requiring change in manufacturing process and communication language. To overcome this challenge in time and meet its commitment to consumers, businesses must adopt the new way of thinking and develop the new capabilities needed for the new demand. As mentioned earlier, the new factor affecting consumer choice is green-ness. 1) As climate change starts to impact the world and causes harm and dramatic loss both economically and. 治政大 to produce goods and demand, businesses must shift toward sustainable practice 立. socially, consumer demand for green products escalates rapidly. To meet consumer. corporate’s overall image and its products or services.. 學. ‧ 國. services and build good corporate image. 2) Green-ness can be reflected by the Therefore, having green. ‧. products can build a good corporate image. 3) Next, cost reduction opportunities.. sit. y. Nat. Cost optimization has been the persevering goal all businesses are after; by assessing. io. al. er. product carbon footprint, businesses can identify the hotspots for efficiency improvement and thereby reduce operating and manufacturing cost. Furthermore, as. n. v i n C hto reduce carbon emission, governments implement measures new kinds of litigation engchi U cost will get imposed on businesses. 4) Opportunities for improvement. As emission hotspots are identified, businesses can use the resulting data to make their next step, such as improving the manufacturing efficiency or transportation efficiency, so that both cost and emission reduction can be achieved.. 12.

(13) 1. Corporate image Corporate image is important to both the external public and internal employees and investors. According to Walkers (a UK subsidiary of PepsiCo), 44% of consumers surveyed stated that Carbon Trust Carbon Reduction Label used on the company’s crisps makes them feel more positive about Walkers.. Consumers. considers the product maker’s corporate image for two reasons 1) to lower moral hazard risk, the risk of buying products made immorally or contains harmful substances 2) consumer’s belief is in alignment with the corporate image. Buying the. 政治大 image attracts talents with the same belief and gives better career development 立 product allows consumers to express their beliefs. For internal employees, corporate. ‧ 國. 學. opportunities. For external investors, a good corporate image means the business is doing well and is expected to get better and means higher stock price. Therefore,. ‧. investors also want business with good corporate image. Having carbon footprint. y. sit. Nat. label on products informs consumers of the socially responsible behaviour of the. io. 2. Consumer demand a. er. corporate and builds and shapes the corporate image into a socially responsible brand.. n. iv l C n h e nofg the i U and constitute the biggest Consumers are the major drivers c heconomy. portion of the society; therefore, it is crucial for businesses to offer products and services matching the needs of consumers. In a study done by Carbon Trust on consumer perception of carbon footprint label, 79% of the subjects surveyed agreed with the statement: “it makes me more aware of the environmental impact of the products and services I choose to buy” and 71% agree that the Carbon Reduction Label: “helps me to reduce the carbon footprint of my regular shopping items”. Consumer perception of carbon footprint label is positive among shoppers.. 13.

(14) According to a study done by TianXia (天下) magazine, the most important factors in Taiwanese consumer purchase decision are environmental-friendliness and price. The younger the consumer is, the more concerned this consumer is about price; the more senior, the more concerned the consumer is about environmentalfriendliness. Among the subjects investigated, the 30+-year-old group is the only group that is more concerned about brand rather than environmental friendliness. Women and consumers above 50 years old put environmental-friendliness as the first priority for purchase decision. Furthermore, man puts price as the first priority while. 政治大 subjects surveyed first consider whether a product is water or electricity-conserving. 立 woman looks at environmental friendliness first. In addition, 84.7% of Taiwanese. ‧ 國. 學. This is also the highest consensus among subjects surveyed regardless of age, region, and sex. According to Mr.Zhang Yangqian, the blog chief editor of Delta Electronics. ‧. Foundation, consumers are most concerned whether green products can help save. sit. y. Nat. money. The products which save water and electricity and can receive government. io. al. er. subsidy are most favoured by consumers even if not for environmental reasons. As. v i n C h consumers’ mind.U Because utility comprises a environmental friendly products in engchi n. can be seen from this investigation, cost saving is a key factor associated with. significant portion of Taiwan consumers’ daily income, therefore, consumers favour products that will help them save cost in the future.. 14.

(15) 3. Supplier Engagement Furthermore, consumers’ engagement in sustainable development will lead to both environmental and economic benefits.. When consumers demand for products. and services that caused the least harm to the environment, while businesses meet consumers’ needs, businesses are also helping to reduce harm on the environment. Labelling emission related information can first engage consumers in the supply chain and reach public commitment. When public commitment is reached, a sense of urgency will spread across the whole supply chain and compel all parties along the Second, 政治大 consumers’ engagement in emission reduction. According to GfK NOP, 67% of UK 立 supply chain to follow through with emissions reduction measures.. ‧ 國. 學. consumers surveyed are more likely to buy a product with low carbon footprint and 44% would switch to a lower-carbon product even if the product was not their first. ‧. choice (LEK Consulting Carbon footprint report 2007). However, consumers often. sit. y. Nat. comment that not enough information is disclosed for them to make the sensible. io. al. er. decision. Although they are concerned with carbon emission of the product, they do. v i n C h allows businesses carbon footprint information disclosed e n g c h i U to differentiate from other n. not have the necessary information to make the right choice. Therefore, having. substitutes and allow consumers to make their decision carbon-wisely.. 15.

(16) 4. B2B demands Due to the complexity of the value chain, most businesses outsource their material from and production to different suppliers. For each material and production procedure, there are numerous suppliers and partners to choose from. For these upper-stream players along the supply chain to win orders from their B2B partners, they need to play according to their partner’s rule. These brand-companies are in turn need to play according to their consumers’ rule. When consumers determines they want a low-carbon market, brand-companies need to produce products and services. 政治大 and services to brand companies, so that the overall carbon emission can be lowered. 立. with low emission and upper-stream players need to provide low emission products. ‧ 國. 學. As the graph illustrates, the end consumers are the major force pulling the brand companies and upper stream players. The size of the circles is relative to the size of. ‧. the player in the market. Consumers are the largest proportion, then suppliers, then. sit. y. Nat. companies. Upper stream players are bigger in size than brand companies, because. io. al. Therefore,. er. each brand company can have numerous suppliers to choose from.. v i n C h related information Suppliers with emission e n g c h i U ready can save the time and n. becoming a competitive supplier to meet the needs of brand companies is the key to its survival.. cost businesses need to take in order to design their products and assess the overall product carbon footprint. Therefore, businesses will more likely to choose suppliers that have this information handy.. 16.

(17) Figure.1.2. Forces driving implementation of carbon footprint labelling scheme. Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world, has announced clearly of its sustainable development goals. In the 2009 Sustainability Report, Mike Duke, CEO of Wal-Mart, stated that sustainability is not a philanthropic program; sustainability is completely aligned with their model, their mission and culture. Sustainability is built into their business because it is good for their business. To facilitate the adoption of a sustainable supply chain, Wal-Mart has provided the initial funding for the establishment of the Sustainability Consortium. The consortium is composed of. 治政 develop a global database that will include product life大 cycle emission of all products. 立 universities that will collaborate with NGOs, governments, suppliers and retailers to. As a major client to the suppliers, Wal-Mart’s strong bargaining power is able to drive. ‧ 國. 學. supplier cooperation on the sustainable development initiatives.. ‧. 5. Regulatory Risk. sit. y. Nat. As carbon related policies begin to kick into effect, more businesses will be. io. al. er. faced with the barrier to production and operation. Kyoto protocol has been an. v i n C U must set reduction goals, Under the Kyotohprotocol, e n g ceach h i country n. important compulsory means reinforcing countries’ engagement in the carbon reduction effort.. and must act to achieve the goal. The cap and trade system assigns each country an emission quota; countries emitting over the quota will need to trade off the excess carbon emission with another country, whose carbon emission is within the assigned quota. The country quota then gets allocated to industries, and businesses will then be assigned a quota. Similar to the county wide system, businesses will need to manage their emission within the assigned quota, or they will need to trade or reduce their emission, or the worst scenario, cease operation. Industries with high emission level, such as food manufacturing, steel, aluminium, construction material, oil, need to be. 17.

(18) extra careful with carbon emission management, because, if not handled well, these businesses might have to go out of business due to government restrictions. Carbon labelling informs the public, the business's effort in carbon reduction, and it is in alignment with government's development policy. In Taiwan, the carbon footprint labelling practice has been actively promoted by the government as one of the efforts to reduce emission. When companies engage in carbon foot printing, businesses are demonstrating their support for government policy and in turn, face less regulatory risk in the future, when official legislation comes into place. There is a possibility. 治政大 which have never been factor influencing consumer behaviour. By then, businesses 立 that carbon foot printing can become a compulsory practice when it becomes a major. exposed to the practice will then react slower and less readily and lose their. ‧ 國. 學. competitive edge when they play in the new low carbon market. During their. ‧. adoption to the practice, others who have completed and learned the practice will play. sit. y. Nat. agilely in the new market, and respond faster to the changing consumer need, while. io. al. er. the late-comers go through the learning curve and get stuck with the time-consuming. n. application process. The European Union's Emission Trading Scheme issued allowance to companies to. v i n C manage emission level h e ntheir gchi U. within the allocated. amount. If the business emits more than it's allowance, the business must buy allowance from others in order to proceed with its operation, or it can buy carbon credits, which is derived from investment in abatement practice within the country or outside the country in which the business operates. The carbon credit allows the company to emit over its allocated allowance. For example, a major food manufacturing enterprise was restrained from production capacity expansion due to its high emission level. This can have devastating effect on the business, as businesses want to produce more to meet consumers’ demands. Therefore, it is faced with the. 18.

(19) option to buy allowance from others, reduce emission through operational improvement or buy credits. All of these are new costs influencing businesses operation. Cost optimization has been an everlasting goal for businesses and implementing the carbon foot printing practice now will be a new way to save future costs. Leading companies such as General Electrics, Alcoa and Excelon have called for rapid enactment of abatement schemes as they want to prepare themselves better for the future regulatory risks and strengthen their competitive edge, by adopting the practice earlier than their rivals.. 政治大 an environmental tax that is levied 立. 6. Carbon Taxation system A carbon tax is. Carbon taxes are one of the policy measures that can be used in. ‧ 國. 學. of fuels.. on the carbon content. reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. They help to address the. ‧. problem of emitters of greenhouse gases not facing the full (social) costs of their. sit. y. Nat. actions. A number of countries have implemented carbon taxes or energy taxes related. io. al. er. to carbon content and many have considered and proposed the implementation of. n. v i n Ch It is still a premature assumption carbon products are necessarily e n gthat c hlowi U. carbon/energy taxes.. associated with a reduction in carbon tax. However, if both carbon tax and low carbon products are introduced, more understanding on the relationship between the two could be obtained and hopefully will make carbon footprint labelling and low carbon products an incentive for businesses to lower their cost.. 7. Litigation Risk Carbon related litigation risks are similar to those in tobacco, pharmaceutical and asbestos industries. Five of America's largest power suppliers are being sued and demanded to lower their carbon emission. Following the 2005 Hurricane Katrina, 19.

(20) victims from Mississippi filed class action suit against operations of energy, fossil fuels, and chemical industries in the United States for causing the emission of greenhouse gases that contributed to the global warming.. The victims claimed. compensation and punitive damages from multinational companies including Shell, ExxonMobile, BP and Chevron.. Other companies named in the suit include. Honeywell and American Electric Power, with the residents charging that "the defendants' greenhouse gas emissions caused saltwater, debris, sediment, hazardous substances, and other materials to enter, remain on, and damage plaintiffs' property".. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 20.

(21) 1.3 Research Purpose . To investigate how carbon footprint labelling is done worldwide. . To investigate how Taiwanese companies implement carbon footprint labelling. . To provide organized information for companies doing carbon footprint labelling in the future. . To further the research on carbon footprint label in Taiwan as it may become a global trend To discover what can be learned from the world and apply to Taiwan. 立. 政治大. 學 ‧. ‧ 國 io. sit. y. Nat. n. al. er. . Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 21.

(22) 1.4 Research Process Flow Chart Research Motivation. Purpose of Research. Literature Review. Framework. 學. ‧ 國. 立. 治政 Build Research 大 Selecting Case Studies. ‧ y. sit. io. n. al. er. Nat. Organization of Interview on cases. i n CDiscussion U h e n g conhresearch i finding. v. Insight from research and suggestions. 22.

(23) Chapter 2: A Review of the Literature 2.1 Carbon Footprint Labelling Background 2.1.1 Carbon footprint label Carbon footprint is the concept of illustrating the impact of anthropogenic carbon emission through the image of a footprint. Just like a footprint on the sand, when a human walks by the sand, a footprint is left on the beach. When a human consumes a product, it also leaves something in the atmosphere, and that something is. 政治大. neither gravity nor mass, it is carbon dioxide. Usually carbon footprint is illustrated. 立. using the shape of a foot. Carbon footprint label contains the information on carbon. ‧ 國. 學. emission associated with the product’s entire life cycle. Typically, a carbon footprint. ‧. label will indicate the amount of carbon dioxide that has been generated through out a product’s life cycle in grams, kilograms, or etc.. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 23.

(24) 立. ‧ 國. 學. Figure.2.1. 政治大. Taiwan’s Carbon footprint label extracted from Taiwan Product. ‧. Carbon Footprint Website, Environmental Protection Administration. sit. y. Nat. 2.1.2 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). n. al. er. io. The life cycle of a product includes various stages, which are production of. i n U. v. raw material, transformation of raw material, manufacturing of product, distribution. Ch. engchi. and selling the product, consumption, and finally disposal of product’s residue. Traditionally, product life cycle is a cradle-to-grave process, where the input going into making a product will all become waste at the end of the life cycle. However, the new concept, “cradle-to-cradle”, is transforming inputs making a product into a new input for other uses. In the process, no waste is generated, in other words, the residual or output of a process become an input for another. The analysis compiles data on volumes and quantities of materials, energy and chemicals, and emission of pollutants and waste resulting from these various life stages.. All. 24.

(25) pollutants are expressed as CO2 a equivalent, which is commonly accepted unit for global warming potential (GWP). Guidelines of Life Cycle Assessment 1. Life cycle inventory analysis: Quantification and compilation of GHG emission of inputs and outputs of a given product throughout its life cycle. 2. Life cycle impact assessment: Understanding and Evaluation of the magnitude and significance of the potential environmental impact of a product system. 3. Life cycle interpretation:. 治政 evaluate information from the results of the LCI and大 the LCIA, and communicate 立 Life cycle interpretation is a systematic technique to identify, quantify, check, and. 學. life cycle interpretation consists of two parts: 1.. Analyse. results,. reach. conclusions,. explain. limitations,. ‧. ‧ 國. them effectively. Life cycle interpretation is the last phase of the LCA process. The. and. provide. sit. y. Nat. recommendations based on the findings of the preceding phases of the LCA, and to. io. al. er. report the results of the life cycle interpretation in a transparent manner. 2. Provide a readily understandable, complete, and consistent presentation of the. n. v i n C h with the goal and results of an LCA study, in accordance e n g c h i U scope of the study Illustration of Life Cycle Assessment. Traditionally, the carbon emission to be included in the life cycle assessment is only the stages after the manufacturing stage. However, this way of accounting GHG has been challenged for ignoring the emission-intensive steps to producing the raw material for the product. For example, an orange juice made with imported California oranges might appear to have lower carbon emission than that with local oranges because of its more efficient manufacturing facility which uses less electricity. This way of calculating the carbon footprint is faulted in design because it fails to. 25.

(26) consider the transportation of the raw material, California oranges to Taiwan. The transportation of heavy substance such as orange will account for a significant amount of GHG emission already.. Therefore, it is crucial to assess the GHG emission. starting from the cultivation and acquisition of the raw material as shown in the above picture. Another input for a can is aluminium. Aluminium is mostly produced by the Hall-Heroult Process in which a great amount of energy is needed to melt the material and as a result a significant amount of carbon dioxide is generated. Thus, that portion of GHG emission must be accounted in the life cycle analysis in order to obtain the. 治政大 site to get processed material, the raw material is transported to the manufacturing 立. holistic picture of a product’s carbon footprint. Following the acquisition of the raw. Product is also packaged at the location, then gets transported to. 學. ‧ 國. into product.. distribution center and sold to consumers. This part causes most variance because it. ‧. relies on the distance the product travels to reach its end-consumer. If the retail store. sit. y. Nat. is further away from the distribution center, then, the carbon emission from the. io. al. er. transportation stage will be higher than that of a retail store near the distribution center. Following is the use/maintenance control of the product. For a drink, it will. n. v i n Ch be storing the drink in cool environment, needed to maintain the low e n gthecelectricity hi U temperature. For a detergent, the water temperature used to wash the clothes will also result in different amount of carbon emission. At the last stage of a product life cycle is the use and disposal of the residue. When the final remainder of product is recyclable, it becomes an input for another process and as a result, emission will be reduced. However, when it has no further use, it needs to be picked up by garbage collecting truck and be buried in landfill, which in time will release GHG emission back into the atmosphere.. 26.

(27) 立. What is the carbon footprint of products by Japan Trade and Industry. 學. ‧ 國. Figure.2.2. 政治大 of Ministry of Economy. Product Category Rules. ‧. Identifying the scope of carbon emission assessment is the ultimate key to. y. Nat. er. io. sit. making carbon footprint label a widely adopted practice. Since life cycle assessment is a brand new concept, there has not been a standard for the measurement scope. The. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. inconsistency among measurement scope is one of the reasons why carbon footprint. engchi. labeling is not widely practiced yet. For businesses, the inconsistency can have impact on competitiveness.. For consumers, it can be misleading and falsifying.. Therefore, setting an international standard for the scope of measurement is the key for global movement of goods. PCR is a guidance or set of rules for the collection of data and how calculation should be done to transfer the data to the climate impact and how to present the information. When the PCR for a product has been set, similar products from other brands with the same ingredient, manufacturing method, and distribution network can apply the existing PCR system and make the process more. 27.

(28) efficient for other players in the market. The PCR sets the functional and declared unit, system boundaries, for each different stage of a product life cycle, cut-off rule, allocation rule, and calculation rules to ensure data quality. The system boundaries divide product life cycle into three stages: 1) Product stage 2) Building stage 3) End of life stage. The cut-off rule refers to the procedures that do not contribute more than 2 % of the total mass and 1 % of the total energy use may be omitted from the inventory analysis. However, they need to be declared and justified in order to ensure the validity of the data.. The allocation rule states that if a production process. 治政 impact (inputs and outputs) according to the product大 in particular in order to get 立 generates more than one type of product, it is necessary to allocate the environmental. product-based inventory data. When allocation is used, the economic reality and. ‧ 國. 學. other relevant aspects shall be considered to determine if other allocation criteria. ‧. would be more appropriate or lead to deviating results. A sensitivity analysis should. sit. y. Nat. be done if a deviation greater than 20% is foreseen. Different data sets shall be. io. n. al. er. documented and reported, if different allocation options are relevant.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 28.

(29) 2.2 Global Status of Carbon Footprint Labelling 2.2.1 The United Kingdom 1. Carbon Reduction Label The Carbon Reduction Label was created by the Carbon Trust, a not-for-profit company whose aims to accelerate the move to a low-carbon economy. Their work involves tasks as diverse as helping companies large and small to lower their carbon footprints, encouraging the development of new low-carbon technologies such as. 治政大 emission information on the low-carbon economy. The first label to disclose carbon 立 offshore wind and wave power and investing in the solutions of the future to develop. products was the Carbon Reduction Label, introduced in 2006 by the UK-based. ‧ 國. 學. Carbon Trust organization. The label not only requires companies using the label to. sit. y. Nat. continue the reduction of product life cycle emission.. ‧. disclose the total carbon footprint of the product, but also requires companies to. io. al. er. The purpose of the Carbon Reduction label in the words of Carbon Trust is “to encourage producers to cut the footprint of the things we buy and to help each of us. n. v i n make simple, no-cost changes C thathreduce our carbonUfootprint too.” engchi. The statement. reflects Carbon Trust’s mission in engaging consumers into shaping the way business operates while consumers can feel good about their purchase decisions. Brands that want to wear the Carbon Reduction Label must conduct life cycle assessment in accordance with the PAS 2050, a set of measurement standard based on the IS0 LCA and greenhouse gas accounting standards and is consistent with GHG Protocol and developed in 2007 by the Carbon Trust in partnership with the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and BSI British Standards.. The. emission included contains the emission associated with raw material production,. 29.

(30) transportation, packaging, through to manufacture, transportation, sale to the end user, use and disposal. Using the label comes with a commitment for emission reduction after 2 years when the license period expires. However, emission targets are agreed and set on a product-by-product basis. The license fee starts at around £5,000. The label is not a life-time certification; the emission assessment must be done every two years and reduction has to be achieved and independently certified to ensure companies strive to lower their carbon emission. If emission has not been reduced, the label is removed.. 治政大and Rural Affairs. Trust and the British Department for Environment, Food 立. British Standard: PAS Public Available specification, at the request of the Carbon. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 30.

(31) Registration Process. 學 ‧. ‧ 國 io. sit. y. Nat. n. al. er. Figure.2.3. 政治大 Registration Process of carbon trust’s Carbon Reduction Label 立. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 31.

(32) 2. Participating companies Table.2.1. Companies that have participated in Carbon Trust’s carbon footprint. labelling project Retail. Goods. Consumer goods. Goods. manufactures. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. -Range of toilet paper and kitchen roll. -Jaffa Oranges / soft fruit. -Milk: Skimmed, Semiskimmed, Whole. Tesco -Range of own brand laundry detergent. -Range of chilled and long life orange juice. -Range of light bulbs. Dyson. Dyson Airblade™. ‧. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. Walkers Tate and Lyle PepsiCo Morphy Richards Allied Bakeries. British Sugar. i n U. v. All varieties of standard crisps sold in single packets 1kg bag of granulated cane sugar Quaker oats and Oat so Simple Range of Irons Kingsmill wholemeal, white and 50:50 loaves -A range of white granulated sugar - British Sugar - B2B -A range of white granulated sugar - Silver Spoon - B2C 32.

(33) Levi Strauss Haymarket. Continental Clothing. Marshalls Mey Selections Sentinel Stalkmarket Aggregate Industries. 立. A one off promotional bag Magazines – Marketing and ENDS report -A range of over 800 t-shirts and other cotton apparel -Woven bags (USA and Japan) and t-shirt internet retailing service Complete range of 2,500 paving products Scottish honey and shortbread Central heating cleaning fluid Biodegradable, disposable catering serving packaging 3 varieties of paving products Bradstones Recycled plastic / polymer Flexbumin (healthcare) Paper. 政治大. Axion Baxter Suzano. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 33.

(34) 3. Achievement: In 2009, nine out of 10 households in the UK bought a carbon labelled product and the average UK household spends £78 on carbon labelled products each year. Up to 2010,the Carbon Trust has worked with more than 90 brands and 5,000 individual product lines, helping them to measure and reduce their carbon footprint – and there are many more household names keen to add the Label to their products. The total retail value of consumer goods sold in the UK bearing the Carbon Reduction Label has just reached £2 billion, and this figure rises to nearly £3 billion if business. 政治大 sales of organic products (£1.5 billion) or Fair trade products (£800m) and is largely 立. products, like CEMEX UK and Marshalls PLC., are included. This exceeded the total. ‧ 國. 學. due to the addition by Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer, of carbon labels to more than 100 of its own-brand products, including pasta, milk, orange juice and toilet. ‧. paper. According to The Economist, A British consumer group, found that a fifth of. sit. y. Nat. British shoppers recognised the carbon footprint label, compared with recognition. io. n. al. er. rates of 82% for Fair trade and 54% for organic labelling.. Figure.2.4. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Actual Carbon Reduction Label on juice. 34.

(35) Figure.2.5. 政治大. Carbon Reduction Label by the Carbon Trust. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 35.

(36) 2.2.2 United States 1. CarbonFree® Product Certification The CarbonFree logo is issued by a Washington based, not-for-profit organization called Carbonfund. The uniqueness of the CarbonFree label among others is that it comes with a carbon offsetting project, giving the product a carbonneutral status.. The method used for LCA is CarbonFree® Product Certification. Carbon Footprint Protocol, which includes any recognized process-based standards such as the GHG Protocol, PAS2050 or ISO14000. Another uniqueness of the label is. 政治大. that it may or may not indicate the amount of the carbon content the product contains,. 立. depending on the applicant’s preference. For subsequent products, the registration fee. ‧ 國. 學. will be adjusted to $500 USD per product. The carbon emission for each product is monitored on a quarterly basis.. If the company has not reached its committed. ‧. emission target, Carbonfund will offset what the company has not reduced, to keep. y. Nat. sit. the product carbon neutral. Carbonfund also offers a reduction incentive which is to. n. al. er. io. waive the registration fee for the product for next year if the product carbon footprint (PCF) is reduced by 10%.. Ch. e. gch 2. Reduction Projects to Select n From a.. i. i n U. v. Renewable energy and methane: this type of offsets support renewable energy. development projects that help to reduce the amount of energy produced from emission-intensive sources like coal and oil. The project can be implemented within Annex I countries or between both Annex I and Annex II countries. An example of this type of project is the Chino Basin Dairy Farm Biodigester, which generates energy from local manure. The reduction of emission associated with each project is converted into different standards, such as Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) or credit that can be sold to or traded with countries, companies or on climate-related trade 36.

(37) centers, such as Chicago Climate Exchange. The resulting standard or credit must be verified by a third-party, such as Det Norske Veritas (DNV), First Environment or TUV in order to become valid. The renewable projects are of many different types that can be classified as the United Nations’s Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation. b.. Energy efficiency and carbon credits: This category invests in projects which. reduce the total amount of energy needed to be produced and consumed. Projects which develop efficient technology, such as fluorescent light bulb and LED lamps, are. 治政大 Project began in 2005. the types of projects offered in this category. For example, the New Zealand Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb (CFL). 立. by following a Clean. Development Mechanism (CDM) methodology to distribute an initial 62,000. ‧ 國. 學. CFLs.Between 2005 and 2007, the Project reduced around 75,000 tonnes of carbon. ‧. dioxide equivalent emissions and has come up with the goal of expanding its. sit. y. Nat. distribution to 3 million CFLs to reduce an estimated 1 million tonnes of CO2.. io. al. er. Another part of this category comes from the purchase of carbon credit on the climate exchange center. By purchasing the carbon credit, Carbonfund retires the credit. n. v i n C h by another company which could otherwise be purchased e n g c h i U to use and gain permission to increase their GHG emission. This way, the credit will become ineffective, as a result, no emission could be generated from owning the credit. c.. Forestation and Avoided Deforestation: planting trees can sequester the. atmospheric carbon dioxide in the tree body and soil and benefit the wild life, community and the entire ecosystem.. Other than being a mitigation method,. forestation projects also benefit economically and socially. It creates jobs, protects biodiversity, improves local environmental quality and maintains and expands wildlife habitats. Avoided deforestation includes preservation of forests from being. 37.

(38) deforested. Forests are a carbon sink to store significant amount of carbon dioxide and often hosts of a variety of species and. According to Carbonfund, deforestation accounts for over 20 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions – more than the entire global transportation sector! Therefore, preservation of forests and forestation is crucial to maintain the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide.. 3. Participating Companies: Table.2.2. List of companies that have the CarbonFree label. Manufacturer. Product. 治 Sugar 政EFG/Refined 大. Domino Sugar. 立. (Packaged). with. CarbonFree® label. AnvilRecycled™ Tee. Florida Crystals. Organic Sugar (Packaged), Evaporated Cane Juice (Packaged), Golden Granulated Sugar (Tote). GBS Enterprises, Inc.. Mattress Protectors Twin, Protectors Twin Extra Long. Grounds for Change. All Grounds for Change Coffee. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Anvil Knitwear, Inc.. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. INTEK America, Inc.. Mattress. Ch. LEI Electronics / Eco Alkalines. i n U. v. Paper Shredder, Lubrication sheet. en Batteries gchi. Monarch Beverages. Beverage: fruit juices. Motorola, Inc.. Cell Phone, Wall Charger Adapter. Nika Water. Bottled water. Sunlyte LLC.. CD, DVD and Bluray packaged discs. Tandus. PowerbondCarpet. Tropical Traders Specialty Food. Royal Hawaiian Honey’s jars and tubs. Charger,. Vehicle. 38.

(39) 4. Label Design:. Figure.2.6. 政治大. The Carbonfree label by Carbonfund. 立. 5. Registration Process:. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Figure.2.7. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Registration Process for Carbonfree label. 39.

(40) 6. Overall Approach: In the case of the United States, the government’s clear stance on rejection of the ratification of Kyoto Protocol results in the absence of solid political power to make change to the current business-as-usual practice of the general public. Therefore, a non-governmental force is emerged to meet the global demands on United States’ actions against climate change. Carbonfund’s approach fulfils the role of the United States as an Annex I country to engage in Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation projects, which provide financial and. 政治大 will lead to a lower carbon development. 立. technological assistance for both developed and developing countries in projects that. ‧ 國. 學. In contrast with other countries’ approach, sometimes by the government, others by an NPO, none has the approach like the Carbonfund.. In which, the. ‧. responsibility of mitigation is not only handled by the business which applies for. sit. y. Nat. carbon labels, but also by the Carbonfund which issues carbon label. Furthermore,. io. al. er. Carbonfund also provides a marketing tool that facilitates the participating companies’. v i n C h stating the product the label visible on their company website e n g c h i U is carbon neutral. n. marketing plans. The companies which have registered the CarbonFree label all have. However, this also gives room to another issue. If businesses know there is always going to be someone to clean after them for their product emission, they will not have the strong will to lower their own emissions. The way Carbonfund works lies in the fact that as long as businesses pay them the registration fee, Carbonfund will neutralize their emission for them. Another issue in Carbonfund’s CarbonFree label is that applicants can choose to disclose their carbon emission information or not. This further reduces the strength of the force to make businesses reduce their carbon emission. Therefore, no matter how much emission is generated throughout the. 40.

(41) product’s life cycle, it will always appear to be carbon neutral. As carbon label is a communication tool to the public, CarbonFree label might become a tool to mislead the public into thinking the product is more environmental-friendly, while in fact, the product generates more GHG emission than other similar products. Another issue with the CarbonFree label is that, applicants who register for the label will have to choose a supplier from Carbonfund’s list of partners to conduct the Lifecycle Assessment. This will all depend on the ethical standards of Carbonfund, whether they will have any means to make its partner work according to their. 治政大 discussion is that the LCA result conducted by Carbonfund’s selected partner is 立 instruction.. Finally, the last factor that makes Carbonfund’s model worthy of. approved by Carbonfund, not by a third-party organization who can review the result. ‧ 國. 學. without any conflict of interest. Of the few countries that have investigated, the US’s. sit. y. Nat. with it.. ‧. CarbonFree label is the only one which has not had any retail business cooperating. io. al. n. Motorola. er. 7. Examples of CarbonFree labels on product website. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. IntekAmerica. Figure.2.8. Examples of Carbonfree labelled products. 41.

(42) 1. Japan Carbon Footprint Label Since the fiscal year of 2008, The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has been establishing, developing, and implementing the Carbon Footprint of Products (CFP) system and has launched the Pilot Project in April 2009 in cooperation with related ministries. As an Annex I country, Japan has vowed to share the global mission of halving total global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 from its current level of emissions. In. 政治大. the 2008 Action Plan for Achieving a Low-carbon Society document, one of the. 立. action plans was to make carbon visible to the public.. ‧ 國. 學. In section 3.Visualization, the two goals are to 1) disseminate the “carbon footprint” system, 2) create rules for carbon offsetting and carbon accounting. The. ‧. first goal, to disseminate the carbon footprint system is to make as many goods,. y. Nat. io. sit. foodstuffs and services’ greenhouse gas information visible to consumers as possible.. n. al. er. The short-term goal is to solidify the guideline for calculation, ensuring credibility. Ch. i n U. v. and displaying of carbon footprint information. This involves developing a carbon. engchi. footprint system that is in alignment with international standard, and contributes to the development of the system under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The second goal, to create rules for carbon offsetting and carbon accounting is to determine the methods for calculating the amount of emissions to be offset and the amount of emissions reductions to be used in offsetting, the way to ensure the certainty of the reductions, the way to prevent double counting of the reductions, and etc. Basically, it involves selection of method for measuring, setting the reduction goal, verification of reduction result, avoidance of measurement errors. Part II of the 42.

(43) goal 2 is Carbon accounting, which makes disclosure of both greenhouse gas emissions and emission reductions from business activities converted into carbon equivalents. mandatory. to. corporate. environmental. information. disclosure.. Implementation methods and rules will be examined during FY 2008, and the findings will be made public.. 2. Japan’s CFP label Japan’s CFP label design was chosen out of a public invitation which received 515 applications. The author made the label to look like a kitchen scale because he wants. 政治大. to make CO2, an intangible substance, to have its own weight that can be visualized. 立. and felt concretely by people.. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat 1. Achievements. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 1. Establishment of the Basic Rules on the Carbon Footprint of Products (CFP) System - Launch Study Group on Rules for Calculation, Labeling and Evaluation of CO2 (GHG) Emissions. The study group consisting of intellectuals discussed technical issues regarding the institutional design of the CFP system. The study group developed two documents as the basic rules on the CFP system: (1) Basic Guideline of the Carbon Footprint of Products (CFP):Provide the calculation and communication method of the CFP as well as the background and purposes of the CFP system 43.

(44) (2) Guide of Establishing Product Category Rules (PCR):Provide common criteria to develop PCRs. 2. Promotion of Carbon Footprint of Products System - Launch Study Group for Development and Promotion of CFP Program The study group consisting of intellectuals, companies and private organizations discussed issues regarding the practical application and promotion of the CFP system. Companies which participated in the study group exhibited their products with the CFP label on a trial basis at an exhibition called “Eco-Products 2008”. 政治大 Ideas for the CFP label design were invited from the public and selected from the 立 - Deciding the design of CFP Label. ‧ 國. 學. applications.. - Exhibition at Eco-Products 2008 on a trial basis. ‧. Companies participated in the Study Group for Development and Promotion of CFP. sit. y. Nat. Program exhibited their products with the CFP label at “Eco Products-2008” on a. n. al. er. io. trial basis and a survey on consumers’ attitudes toward this program was conducted.. i n U. v. In addition to the exhibition, some intellectuals gave lectures at seminars to raise. Ch. engchi. awareness and promote the CFP system.. 3. Contribution to Establishing the International Standard - Establish ISO CFP Mirror Committee The committee consists of intellectuals, 26 industrial circles, consumer groups, accreditation bodies, certification bodies and government officials discusses and reviews Japanese policies for international standardization based on Japan’s experiences - such as the development of the basic rules on the CFP system - and other various trials, and proactively contributes to the discussions at ISO concerning international standardization of issues related to CFP. 44.

(45) 2. For government: Establishment of CFP system The CFP pilot project included Four Main Activities: (1) CFP Calculation & Labeling Pilot Program The CFP calculation and labeling were set as standard and the process of CFP registration was also set as standard. PCR committee, consisting of academic scholars and consumers, was also established to review the calculation and labeling setting. At the Eco Products-2009, companies which have made it through the third-party verification stage can market their products with the CFP label.. In addition to. 政治大. exhibiting at the Eco Products-2009, educational seminars were given by experts to raise public awareness on CFP.. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Figure.2.9. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Registration of Carbon footprint label. (2) Database construction As companies participate in the pilot project, the measured GHG emission factor of each step of the life cycle is recorded in the database and the experimental database has been released and new items will continuously be added. The GHG Emission Factors Review Committee, consisting of third-party academic scholars, is. 45.

(46) responsible in reviewing the database.. The database is developed under the. supervision of National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and verification by GHG Emission Factors Review Committee. The database was developed by collecting and arranging data from various sources such as documents and research materials to support the CFP Pilot Project in FY 2009. A new database which provides more detailed and exhaustive GHG emission factors is under construction. This new database is aiming to cover 1,500 or more items and will be released at the end of FY 2009.. 治政 Ensure credibility of CFP. As CFP becomes an大 important communication tool 立. (3) Building Verification Scheme. for business to consumers, it must be free of manipulation and bias. For business,. ‧ 國. 學. having a transparent system gains trust from consumers and for consumers, they can. ‧. rely on the CFP label when they make their purchase decision. Therefore, building a. io. al. er. (4) Contribution to Establishing International Standard. sit. y. Nat. reliable verification scheme is important for both businesses and consumers.. Japan is actively involved in setting the ISO standard, which will become a. n. v i n Cbehused across the continents. widely adopted standard that can engchi U 3. Implementation of CFP Label. This flow diagram shows the process of implementing CFP label on products. Note that the inputs are two ways. First, there is the national government side initiating the plan. Alongside is the consumer voice that fuels the demand for CFP label. Second, on the bottom side, international standard provides input for building verification scheme which must be synced with Japan’s national verification scheme. While companies conduct life cycle assessment, they provide the GHG emission factor to the database and facilitate database construction. In the center is the result of. 46.

(47) the inputs from both side, the establishment of a CFP system. As companies deliver CFP labelled products to market, they constantly receive feedback from consumers through the governmental survey. This plan takes into international input, alongside with national political power and consumer power to generate a holistic picture, with a positive cycle fuelled by consumer demand, governmental support and business input.. 政治大. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. Figure.2.10. engchi. i n U. v. Implementation of Japan CFP. 4. For Business: Application procedure The first step is apply for draft PCR development plan. Once the registration has been confirmed, applicant start to draft the PCR, then it has to pass through public opinion to move and PCR committee to the CFP calculation part which needs to be verified by PCR committee in order to finally market the product.. 47.

(48) Figure.2.11. Application of Carbon Footprint Label. 5. Overall Implementation Strategy Japan’s implementation of carbon footprint integrates three aspects: making a. 政治大 making it an international standard. Japan’s implementation considers the issue from 立. guideline, taking complementary actions (exposure, education & promotion), and. ‧ 國. 學. political, educational and business perspective and identifies the need for integration of the three pillars in order to make carbon footprint labelling a sustainable practice.. ‧. Currently, carbon footprint labelling is not a legally binding policy. It relies on the. sit. y. Nat. public and businesses to make it into a sustainable and widely acceptable practice.. al. er. io. When consumers demand for carbon footprint labelled products, their voice. v. n. manoeuvres business’s development direction. However, when consumers are not. Ch. engchi. i n U. aware of carbon footprint label and do not care about climate change and carbon emission, businesses cease the engagement in carbon footprint labelling because it requires change in business-as-usual practice and incurs a short-term cost. Therefore, education, exposure, and promotion on carbon footprint labelling practice are all important in order to sustain the invisible hand to drive business’s engagement. Businesses need governmental, channel, and marketing support in order to maximize the benefit and sustain the practice of carbon footprint labelling. The survey also raises consumer awareness in carbon footprint labels, the feedback from the survey will then act as another input to stimulate companies to work further to make carbon 48.

(49) footprint labelling a nation-wide practice. METI’s action plan on visualization on carbon emission is a well thought-out plan that sees the true driver of the labelling practice, which is the market demand, and uses complementary measure (exposure, education & promotion) to continue to fuel the demand for labelling practice. This is a picture on the brochure distributed at the Eco Products-2009 exhibition. The companies participated in the CFP pilot program were invited to exhibit their products with the CFP label at the Eco Products-2009 exhibition. Below is the brochure for promotion of carbon footprint label. From the. 治政 stimulates all parties along the supply chain to think 大 about their emission and think 立 brochure, the key benefits of CFP label can be clearly seen. First, to businesses: it. about how to improve its current status. Second, to consumers: it reminds consumers. ‧ 國. 學. that there is a new factor to consider when they make their purchase decisions. The. ‧. two-way arrow in the centre indicates the mutual relationship between business and. sit. y. Nat. consumers. Though business and consumers are on two sides of the issue, one side’s. io. n. al. er. reaction will affect the other and the same for the other way around.. Ch. Figure.2.12. engchi. i n U. v. Carbon Footprint Brochure. 49.

(50) 6. Achievement: Currently there are 50 products that have been approved for the PCR and 8 products have the CFP label on them. The products range from food to furniture to fire extinguisher. 7. Participants: List of companies that have participated in the Pilot Project:. Retail. Consumer goods manufacturers. ・AEON ・Seiyu ・Seven & i Holdings ・Lawson ・JCCU (Co-op) ・Marui ・UNY ・FamilyMart ・CGC. 立. ・Sapporo ・KAGOME ・Nestle ・Calbee ・AJINOMOTO ・Nissin Food ・Nippon MeatPackers ・NISSIN SEIFUN ・KAO ・KIBUN FOOD CHEMIFA ・Lion ・Unicharm ・Panasonic i v n Ch ・Toshiba Lighting & Technology U engchi ・KOKUYO Furniture ・KOKUYO S&T ・KOKUYO Store Creation ・Dai Nippon Printing ・Nihon Tetra Pak ・TOYO SEIKAN ・CHUO KAGAKU. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. io. sit. y. Nat. n. al. er. Table.2.3. 50.

(51) 2.2.3 France 1. France Grenelle 2 Indice Carbone (Carbon Index) “Grenelle 2: the bill on the national commitment to the environment” is a fiveyear plan for France’s nationwide sustainability with targets set between 2008 and 2050. It is also the first one in European Union to make environmental label a compulsory measure for both imported and local goods. One of the goals of the plan is to engage consumers into nationwide sustainable development through raising consumers’ awareness of their carbon footprint.. The proposed bill would make. 政治大. environmental labels mandatory on all consumer products sold in France, including. 立. agricultural/food products, beginning January 2011.. ‧ 國. 學. The environmental label is estimated to cost as much as 5% of the final product price; the cost will be carried by either French consumers or retailers and. ‧. producers who have agreed to share the burden. The plan aims to reduce carbon. y. Nat. sit. emission through the adoption of sustainable methods of production and consumption,. n. al. er. io. and increase of consumers’ awareness of the environmental impact of products, which would include but not limited to carbon footprint.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Grenelle 2 is a legislative package which has been approved by the French Senate in October 2009, and was being reviewed by the National Assembly in April 2010. The Ministry of Ecology works on the implementation regulations, also known as Implementation Decrees, which should be published once the law has been approved by the National Assembly. To prepare for the implementation of Grenelle 2, French government has asked ADEME and AFNOR to form working groups. The Grenelle 2 consists of two principles 1) The emission will be cut off at the point of sale (the emission post-purchase will not be included in the label) 2) the label will not. 51.

(52) be limited to carbon footprint (will include other environmental impact indicator such as biodiversity and water quality). Agricultural and food products will be the first to fall under the Grenelle 2 as these though not account for significant portion of consumers’ income, they are frequently purchased. Frequent and broad-scope (exposure to almost everybody) contact with the label will be the most efficient way to raise consumers’ awareness of GHG emission and climate change. Grenelle 2 emerged out of the Grenelle Forum (France’s environment round. 治政 and non-governmental organizations to develop new大 policies focused on tackling 立 table), the forum that brought together the government, local authorities, trade unions. environmental issues. The round table led to the adoption of The Grenelle: Act 1 on. ‧ 國. 學. 21 October 2008 by the National Assembly and Grenelle 2, promulgated on 12 July,. ‧. 2010. Grenelle Act 1 defines environmental targets for the coming years while. sit. y. Nat. Grenelle Act 2 focused on raising consumers’ awareness of the relationship between. io. al. er. consumption and environmental impact and providing the legal tools to implement the environmental targets set out in Act 1. Grenelle Act 2 also comes with an obligation. n. v i n to carry out an experimentation,Cwhich for volunteers from organizations (from h e ncalls gchi U companies or consortia of companies, trade unions, professional bodies, etc.) of all sizes and from every sector in order to create the a broad and diversified sample group on the basis of a requirements specification drawn up as a result of a series of meetings and consultations with different stakeholders (National Committee for Sustainable Development, Grenelle Environment Forum, ministries, the AFNOR ADEME platform [French standardisation body/French agency on environment and energy management] , the French National Consumer Council, etc.).. 52.