Business efforts to use their environmental credentials as selling points for consumers will be significantly advanced following the government's agreement to play a bigger role in verifying environmental claims, Environment Minister David Benson-Pope said today.

In moves announced by Prime Minister Helen Clark in her statement to Parliament today, the government will expand the Environmental Choice NZ ecolabel to a wider range of products in addition to establishing a database of reliable ecolabel and standards verification schemes.

"New Zealand consumers are increasingly seeking out sustainable goods and services and businesses are keen to provide more and more of them," David Benson-Pope said.

"When a business puts a sustainable product on the market it's important that they can use their environmental credentials as a selling point.

"But deciding which ecolabelling or standards verification scheme to use is not always straightforward. With a number of different organisations offering these services, businesses have been telling the government that it's difficult to know which schemes are reliable."

"By expanding the government's own Environmental Choice NZ ecolabel and setting up a database of trusted schemes, the government hopes to make it easier for all businesses to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by sustainability."

It is expected that the new database will eventually include all products commonly purchased by businesses such as office supplies, computers and cars. The database will also provide information on environmental services such as carbon offset schemes like Landcare's CarboNZero.

Existing ecolabels and standards, and those who want their services included, will have their claims and certifications checked before being registered on the database, which will be publicly available on the Internet.

Q&A - Eco-labels and verification

How will businesses know which eco-labels and which environmental programmes are robust?
The Ministry for the Environment will develop a verification system/criteria so that any business that wants to trade on sustainability will know what to look for, before they commit to any commercially available eco-label or sustainability programme. This programme will include eco-labels and sustainable management practice programmes - such as Landcare's CarboNZero.

How quickly will the minimum sustainable standards for core agencies be adopted?
These will be phased in later in the year. There is already a Ministerial requirement for government departments to purchase timber and wood products from sources that are from demonstrably legal, and where available sustainable, sources.

A new Ministerial directive in relation to ministerial cars will come into effect immediately. Both self and chauffeur driven cars, when they are up for cost-effective replacement, will be replaced with vehicles that meet at least a Euro IV emissions standard.

Won't the requirement of eco-labels and minimum environmental standards be bad for business?
The New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable New Zealand (ShapeNZ) conducted a survey in late 2006 of 190 business decision makers. On the issue of the government moving to require all organizations tendering to sell goods and services to its agencies to have a sustainable or eco-label, there was 70% support from the business decision makers.