Marketing, information and communication
Current developments in life cycle based labelling and declarations
Ecolabels and environmental product declarations are voluntary schemes and can be used by companies to communicate about the environmental performance of their products. They are often referred to as type I and type III labels and declarations respectively with reference to the ISO 14020-series. This means that they consider all relevant environmental aspects are life cycle based and third party verified. Both types share the same goal as defined by ISO ”…through communication of verifiable and accurate information that is not misleading on environmental aspects of products and services, to encourage the demand for and supply of those products and services that cause less stress on the environment, thereby stimulating the potential for market-driven continuous environmental improvement.”
Today many different labeling and declaration schemes are developed. The main focus of the session will be on current developments in this area and especially on experience from companies using ecolabels and environmental product declarations in their B2C and B2B communication. Presentations of other aspects related to the use of ecolabels and environmental product declarations are also welcomed, but presentations with focus on application will be preferred.
Format: Oral session and posters
Sustainability data exchange
Recent years has seen legislation focus increasingly on substance- and material content in products, originating from an intensified discussion on chemical/toxicological hazards in society. REACH, the Toys Directive, the upcoming Biocide Directive and many additional policy initiatives create a growing need for communication of content information along the supply chains of most industrial sectors. Rising metal prices, the issue of resource scarcity and resulting responses such as the EC initiative “Strategy 2020 – A resource-efficient Europe” and the discussion on rare earths, are other drivers for companies to put more efforts into data exchange along their supply chains. This is not a trivial task, given the complex and global operations of most producing companies, but there are examples of success in some sectors.
Within the car industry, the development and later enforcement of the ELV directive lead European vehicle manufacturers to cooperate in development of the International Material Data System, IMDS. Similar systems have been developed for the electronics industry, and other sectors are following. The challenge for system providers is to build flexible solutions that comply with current needs and have the ability to be adjusted to future demands, whether they come from new and updated legislation, specific branch initiatives or the agenda of other societal stakeholders.
Important topics for contributions to this session discussion are, among others:
- Data availability and trust in the supply chain
- Secrecy and IP arrangements for data exchange
- How to develop flexible systems for future needs
Format: Oral session and posters
The role of communication in LCM
Communication is a vital facilitator for collaboration and shared responsibility between actors in a product value chain, and is a key tool of Life Cycle Management. It is also central for making a whole organization apply Life Cycle Management. This session will address for example:
- Communication to consumers: How to reach the consumers without confusing them with too much or contradicting information or providing too little information for sound decisions? How can communication be used to educate the consumers and who are the appropriate actors to communicate to the consumers?
- Communication between actors in the value chain: How can communication be used to stimulate collaboration with actors in the value chain? How to balance knowledge sharing and insights to innovations, with risk to expose company intellectual capital?
- Internal communication: How can senior managers best motivate employees to adopt Life Cycle Thinking and to encourage it in innovation? What training is required? How to best set up communication paths for information sharing between functions in a larger company in order to make Life Cycle Management operational?
Format: Oral session and posters
Round table: Current developments in life cycle based labeling and declarations
Round table discussions in relation to the session “Current developments in life cycle based labeling and declarations”, as described above.
Format: Round table
Please note that we do not call for traditional abstracts for this round table. It is however possible to send in suggestions of issues to discuss. Register and write your topic and/or question including a short motivation as “abstract”.
