It's not easy being green... rating white goods
Guardian Unlimited | 02 Apr 2011
Does an A rating really guarantee energy efficiency? On the surface it looks good. Some 95% of dishwashers and 98% of washing machines now claim to be A-rated. Until you realise that for an appliance not to score an A it would need to belch out a visible cloud of soot during every wash. The point of energy ratings for machines is to reduce environmental pressures through better efficiency and to let the consumer make that choice.
 England | Access to Information | Certification | Energy Consumption | Energy Production | Industry

Traditional buildings are being damaged by flawed energy reports in race to be green
Daily Mail | 22 Mar 2011
The energy performance certificates applied to all properties when they are sold are 'totally inappropriate' for old buildings according to latest research.
 Certification | Energy Consumption | Energy Efficiency | Urban Planning

Homebuyers ignore efficiency labels
Guardian Unlimited | 02 Mar 2011
A Consumer Focus report found 79% of prospective buyers did not act on recommendations of energy performance certificates. Homebuyers overwhelmingly ignore energy labels designed to encourage greener homes, a new survey revealed on Wednesday. Consumer Focus carried out a survey to find out how useful prospective buyers and tenants found energy performance certificates (EPC), which vendors and landlords are legally required to provide when selling or letting a home.
 England | Certification | Economics and the Environment | Economy | Energy Conservation | Energy Consumption

Wine: The trouble with Fairtrade wine
Guardian Unlimited | 26 Feb 2011
Fairtrade producers are missing a trick - if they offered more exciting bottles, we'd buy a lot more of them. Those who regularly buy Fairtrade coffee and tea may well be tempted to pick up a bottle of Fairtrade wine over the next couple of weeks, the annual Fairtrade fortnight. But I wonder how much you'll enjoy it. Having tasted a number recently, I was underwhelmed by the overall quality – I'd say Fairtrade wine is where Fairtrade chocolate, tea and coffee were four or five years ago.
 Certification | Environmental Awareness

Co-operative Group commits to ambitious ethical operating plan
Guardian Unlimited | 18 Feb 2011
Co-op aims to cut carbon emissions by 35%, increase Fairtrade product lines and invest £1bn in green energy. The Co-operative Group is launching an ethical operating plan that it hopes will set a benchmark for corporate responsibility on carbon reduction, fair trade and community involvement. The group, which employs 120,000 staff, also plans to increase its membership from 6 million to 20 million and double its support for green energy to £1bn.
 England | Certification | Economics and the Environment | Economy | Governance | Greenhouse Gas Emissions

New app launches for ethical shoppers
Guardian Unlimited | 04 Feb 2011
Shoppers keen to know the ethical status of the goods and services they want to buy can make real-time comparisons using a new mobile phone app that launched today. The Ethical Company Organisation's best-selling Good Shopping Guide has been turned into an app, using its ethical product research...
 United Kingdom | Certification | Environmental Awareness

Consumers 'ignorant' of parent companies
Guardian Unlimited | 25 Jan 2011
Most consumers are ignorant of the multinational parent companies behind so-called ethical brands such as Rachel's Organic, Seeds of Change and Green & Black's, according to a survey due to be published this week by the consumer organisation Which?. Three-quarters of the people questioned also believe companies should be clear about ownership on the brand's packaging, but the survey, to published on Thursday, reveals that corporate parents often keep quiet about their ethical offspring.
 England | Certification | Corporate Social Responsibility | Environmental Awareness

UK egg farmers in crisis talks with European Commission
Guardian Unlimited | 09 Jan 2011
Legislation that takes effect next year could make British egg producers less competitive than their Spanish and Polish counterparts. European rules that outlaw the keeping of egg-laying hens in battery pens have prompted farmers to convene a crisis meeting with European commission officials, amid...
 United Kingdom | Biodiversity | Certification | Economy | Livestock

EU Forest Action Plan
EurActiv | 04 Sep 2006
The Finnish EU Presidency organises a high-level conference on the competitiveness of the forest-based sector on 28 November 2006. A mid-term assessment of the Forestry Action Plan will take place in 2009 and a final assessment in 2012.
 Biodiversity | Certification | Climate Change | Energy Conservation | Forest Plantation and Afforestation | Forest Quality | Forests and Woodlands

Defra announces review to assure legal and sustainable timber procurement
DEFRA - Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs | 08 Jun 2006
A review of five forest certification schemes will begin on 24 June to ensure that the schemes are providing adequate assurances that timber bought by the UK Government is legally and sustainably sourced, in line with UK Government policy on timber procurement. Interested parties are invited to submit comments and evidence to the Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET) before 24 June.
 Biodiversity Conservation | Certification | Commercial Forestry | Conservation | Deforestation | Forest Plantation and Afforestation | Forest Quality | Sustainable Forest Management | Tropical Forests