Objectives for Enhanced Eco-Verification
What Enhanced Eco-verification should support
16. Eco-verification processes and infrastructures are required to support a range of government, partnership and private-sector initiatives aimed at increasing environmental sustainability, reconciling sustainability objectives with trade objectives and supporting economic transformation. These include:
- the five other initiatives of the government's February sustainability package;
- national strategies for climate-change, energy, energy efficiency and waste management;
- government programmes of action for water, clean air, Govt3, fisheries management and other similar initiatives;
- joint sustainability initiatives with sectors such as those for tourism and aquaculture and fisheries (as described in a companion paper on the Business Partnerships for Sustainability initiative);
- cross-sectoral groups such as the Food Miles Group convened by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade which is looking at ways to tackle potential trade barriers arising from the emerging international focus on "food miles";
- work with firms, where the key issue is lifting general capability to engage in sustainable business practices through employment of eco-verification instruments (such as ISO 14000 standards) and tools such as those for estimating and verifying carbon footprints; and
- partnership work with organisations such as the Sustainable Business Network, the NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development and Landcare Research who work with firms who are interested in eco-labels and sustainable business practices.
Objectives for Enhanced Eco-verification
17. A set of objectives for the Enhanced Eco-verification initiative has been identified through a workshop involving a range of eco-verification stakeholders held in April, and work by officials. These are:
- Increasing business commitment to use of management systems, including product standards, that meet eco-standards. Many NZ firms make no use of eco-standards and eco-labels. Ways to build capabilities in these areas are outlined in the accompanying paper of Business Partnerships for Sustainability. Government can also facilitate uptake by making sure that appropriate standards are available, that the advantages for businesses are clear and that it is easy for businesses to engage with eco-verification.
- Developing better measurement technologies and systems to exploit opportunities, manage risks and position New Zealand as a leader in sustainable management. There is general agreement that New Zealand has opportunities to develop sophisticated new measurement technologies and systems in key areas. These will give NZ sectors and businesses an edge and help to cement New Zealand's reputation as a country at the forefront of proactive sustainability management.
- Supporting development of sector eco-verification infrastructures that are consistent with global leadership positions. A number of sectors are developing eco-verification frameworks (as outlined in the companion paper on Business Partnerships for Sustainability). Government can facilitate these processes by working with sectors to identify gaps and opportunities to enhance eco-verification systems (e.g. through improved standards, better measurement tools, simpler verification and certification processes), to manage international trade risks (e.g. the misuse of food mile standards) and to create leadership positions (e.g. NZ standards and processes for a sector become global best practice).
- Leveraging existing regulatory frameworks to identify possible stretch eco-verification requirements. As a regulator, the government can increase the scope or stringency of standards and regulations governing areas such as energy efficiency, building materials and resource use and, thereby, increase the drive for sustainability across the economy.
- Leveraging New Zealand's standards and conformance infrastructure internationally to identify areas where we should attempt to influence standards and assessment approaches. New Zealand has an internationally recognised and respected conformity assessment infrastructure. There are opportunities to leverage this by keeping abreast of the development of international standards in areas that are important to us and by identifying where we should participate actively to influence outcomes.
- Developing eco-verification tools to support government objectives for sustainable procurement, Govt3 and a carbon-neutral public service. Eco-verification standards and tools are being developed as part of the Carbon-neutral public service initiative. There are also opportunities to develop standards, tools and systems to support government leadership initiatives required by Govt3 and Sustainable Government Procurement. The information and tools developed will later become useful for businesses and consumers who find the current proliferation of eco-standards and eco-labels confusing.
18. We recommend that this set be used as objectives for Enhanced eco-verification.
Back to Top