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14. Government has four roles in relation to eco-verification:

• As a regulator, government can increase the scope or stringency of eco-standards and regulations so that these become levers to help deliver New Zealand's sustainability objectives. The scope for doing this will need to be determined on a case-by-case basis as Enhanced Eco-verification and other sustainability initiatives unfold.
• As a facilitator, government can accelerate progress by supporting or boosting the actions of other organisations involved in eco-verification and by providing information to help consumers make informed choices when buying products or services. Business-related aspects of this role are illustrated in the companion paper on Business Partnerships for Sustainability.
• As a leader, government can raise the bar and create incentives for others through the eco-standards and tools it employs in initiatives like procurement, Govt³ and the carbon-neutral public sector. Proposals to set particular standards for particular products are outlined in the companion paper on Sustainable Government Procurement.
• As a provider of standards and conformance infrastructure, government can support and streamline the underpinning arrangements associated with standards setting, measurement, verification and certification. For example, the first of the key actions outlined later in this paper is likely to involve the streamlining of connections between various eco-standards so that it becomes easier for firms to use those that are recognised internationally.

15. Because eco-verification is a crowded space with many different actors, standards, methodologies, purposes, pressures, motivations for engagement and commercial interests (as illustrated in Annex 3), precipitate actions to "enhance eco-verification" could readily have unintended consequences (e.g. an apparently straightforward decision to endorse a particular eco-label might impact on NZ's trade obligations). As a result, most actions to enhance eco-verification require careful development. Routes to actions are set out in the sections that follow.