Product Labelling and Standards : Business Participation in Energy Efficiency Regimes

Abstract

A common view of business in political science and sociology is that capital owners, managers, firms and their associations are only short-term profit-seekers. If this were true, business “as such” would have fought against social and environmental policies at all times and in all places. In fact, business contributed to many long-term problem-solving processes with respect to social and environmental issues. Most of these ecological approaches are currently subsumed under the concept of sustainability, and one of the most important strategies in this respect is energy saving. Since our world’s energy resources are limited and the usage of many energy forms implies some severe long-term negative externalities (e.g. global warming or radio activity), energy saving is one of the key strategies that contribute to sustainable social and economic development. In this chapter, we study a special area of energy saving and energy efficiency improvement, that is, the reduction of electricity consumption in private households. With respect to the numbers and types of policy measures designed to reduce energy consumption, there is large variation between countries. Many countries apply regulatory measures (voluntary or mandatory norms and standards with respect to energy efficient appliances), labelling programs, information campaigns, and counselling activities. We focus on product standards and environmental labelling. Both types of policy instruments are well established measures in helping reduce energy consuption.