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PurposeISO 14020 series of standards provide guidance for establishing ecolabels and a classification based on three label types, I, II, and III. They also determine the consideration of product’s life cycle and application of the life cycle assessment (LCA) in ecolabeling. Still, the large number and variety of existing ecolabels has led to consumer confusion in the recent years. The objective of this paper is to propose a characterization scheme for ecolabels and to provide recommendations for the enhancement of existing ecolabel classification, questioning the current sufficiency of ISO.MethodsTo reach the objective, we first create a sample of ecolabels covering forest and paper products as an example, to narrow down the enormous number of existing ecolabels (over 460 as of August 2018). Second, we analyze their content, purpose, and awarding criteria through a desk research. In parallel, scientific publication, reports, and standards are also analyzed. Third, based on the obtained information, we define a list of ecolabel characterization attributes and their options and observe tendencies in ecolabel development. Ultimately, based on the outcomes of the proposed characterization scheme, we give recommendations for enhancement.Results and discussionUltimately, we compare a sample of 45 ecolabels against 18 attributes of the proposed characterization scheme, including, among others, their ISO typology, life cycle perspective, awarding format, covered environmental aspects, and scope. Regarding type I or type III label, ISO seems to be explicit and their requirements are well respected, including how LCA is to be applied. However, approximately 60% of the explored ecolabels in our sample did not declare any ISO typology, whereas none assigned a type II classification. These “undefined” ecolabels, as we call them, apply different awarding formats and criteria in combination and hybrid forms that are not recognized and described by ISO or any other observed classification approach. Misuse of the term “LCA” is also perceived in such “undefined” initiatives.ConclusionsWe conclude that the current ISO standards on ecolabels belittle the consequences that the increased number of undefined ecolabels brings. We provide a list of recommendations for the enhancement of the current ISO classification in seven topics, namely, awarding format, aspects diversity, operation scope, verification, reconsideration of the usability of ISO 14021, new ISO classification, and transparency. Limitations of the study and outlook conclude the work.

The purpose of this research is to study the changes in the market structure of China’s pulp and paper product imports. In particular, the import trade environment and market layout of Chinese pulp and paper products have changed under the international context of the coronavirus pandemic and the Sino-US trade dispute and the domestic policy context of zero imports of Chinese waste paper. This study attempts to fill the gap regarding the influencing factors of market structure, while contributing new ideas on China’s trade in pulp and paper products. Based on pulp and paper product import and export trade data from 2005 to 2021, a trade gravity model was used to explore the changes in the share of China’s trade partners for pulp and paper product imports and their influencing factors. The results indicated that the outbreak of COVID-19 led to a significant increase in China’s imports of packaging paper products, bringing about an increase in Indonesia’s status as a partner in China’s pulp and paper product trade. The US-China trade dispute had an impact on pulp and paper product trade between the two countries, with China’s tax countermeasures causing the US to lose its status as a trading partner in China for pulp and paper product imports. The center of gravity for paper product imports has moved from the US and Japan to Indonesia and Russia. The restrictions on waste paper imports have shifted the focus of China’s paper raw material imports, with the US no longer being the main importer of China’s paper raw materials. Specifically, the main importers of wood pulp are Brazil and Chile, while the main importers of waste paper pulp are Thailand and Malaysia. In the future, China needs to continuously strengthen dialogue with the United States to resolve trade disputes and create a favorable environment for trade in pulp and paper products. At the same time, China’s paper enterprises should strengthen the expansion of the Southeast Asian market and reduce dependence on the US market, and China should continue to improve the waste paper recycling system and improve the utilization rate of domestic waste paper.

Though paper is an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic as a packaging material, it lacks antibacterial properties, and some papers have a low resistance to oil or water. In this study, a multifunctional paper-coating material was developed to reduce the use of plastic packaging and enhance paper performance. Natural cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) with excellent properties were used as the base material for the coating. The CNCs were functionalized into dialdehyde CNCs (DACNCs) through periodate oxidation. The DACNCs were subsequently complexed using erythrosine as a photosensitizer to form an erythrosine–CNC composite (Ery-DACNCs) with photodynamic inactivation. The Ery-DACNCs achieved inactivations above 90% after 30 min of green light irradiation and above 85% after 60 min of white light irradiation (to simulate real-world lighting conditions), indicating photodynamic inactivation effects. The optimal parameters for a layer-by-layer dip coating of kraft paper with Ery-DACNCs were 4.5-wt% Ery-DACNCs and 15 coating layers. Compared to non-coated kraft paper and polyethylene-coated paper, the Ery-DACNC-coated paper exhibited enhanced mechanical properties (an increase of 28% in bursting strength). More than 90% of the bacteria were inactivated after 40 min of green light irradiation, and more than 80% were inactivated after 60 min of white light irradiation.

PurposeThe European Ecolabel (EU Flower) has the mission to encourage cleaner production and influence consumers to promote Europe’s transition to a circular economy. Nonetheless, little is known about EU Ecolabel evolution; it is not clear what the drivers that encourage its implementation are. Thus, this study aims to assess the growing acceptance of the EU Ecolabel in the European Union, and Spain more specifically, by examining product and service categories and geographical regions.MethodsThe methodological approach taken in this study is a mixed methodology based on the triangulation method by consulting the EU Ecolabel scheme database, EU Ecolabel delegates from some autonomous regions, and the academic literature. Also, a geographic analysis was run in the ArcGIS Software with data about the accumulation of licenses assigned in 2016.Results and discussionThe analysis shows that most products in Spain that have been awarded the EU Ecolabel belong to the following categories: Do-It-Yourself Products (paint and varnish), Paper Products, Cleaning Up Products, and Electronic Equipment. At the same time, the study showed that this ecolabel faces significant obstacles in its diffusion, such as the competition with environmental labels launched previously in Europe and other regional labels.ConclusionsThe results of this study indicate the existence of five drivers that may encourage the implementation of EU Flower in a region: (1) public management, (2) communication strategy, (3) sustainable public procurement criteria, (4) local income per capita, and (5) international trade incentives.Finally, this study provides essential recommendations for policymakers to trigger ecolabeling practices such as the need to improve the understanding of the EU ecolabel impact in different levels of activity, which means countries, regions, industrial clusters, firms, and consumers. Also, this investigation identifies areas for further research, and it expresses the need to develop business case studies about ecolabeling with the objective to visualize this phenomenon as an eco-innovation process.

China has been the world’s largest producer and consumer of paper products. In the context of the “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals”, China’s papermaking industry which is traditionally a high energy-consuming and high-emissions industry, desperately needs a nationally appropriate low-carbon development path. From the consumption-side perspective, this paper calculates the CO2 emissions of China’s papermaking industry from 2000 to 2019 by using carbon emission nuclear algorithm, grain-straw ratio, first-order attenuation method, and STIRFDT decomposition model, etc., to further explore the core stages and basic patterns affecting the industry’s carbon peaking. The results show that the total CO2 emissions of China’s papermaking industry showed an upward trend from 2000–2013, stable from 2013–2017, and a steady but slight decline from 2017–2019. Meanwhile, the total CO2 emissions of the full life cycle of paper products in China have decreased to a certain extent in the raw material acquisition, pulp, and paper making and shipping stages, with only the waste paper disposal stage showing a particular upward trend. We find that from 2000 to 2019, China’s CO2 emissions in the pulping and papermaking stage of paper products accounted for 68% of the total emissions in the whole life cycle, of which 59% was caused by coal consumption. Moreover, the scenario prediction shows that improving the energy structure and increasing the waste paper recovery rate can reduce the CO2 emissions of the industry, and it is more significant when both work. Based on this and the four core stages of CO2 emissions of the papermaking industry we proposed ways to promote CO2 emissions peaking of China’s paper products.

PurposeThe European Commission is thinking about policy options for the European Environmental Footprint (EF) method and aims for a broad support. The SwitchMed initiative is a programme with the overall objective to facilitate the shift towards sustainable consumption and production in the Southern Mediterranean region. One of the objectives of this initiative, carried out in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia, is to facilitate access of companies from this region to the outcomes of the EF Rules pilot phase.MethodsThe project was composed of three consecutive phases: (I) awareness raising; (II) local pilots; and (III) dissemination events. The awareness raising and technical workshop activities were meant to expose national stakeholders to the potential impact of the EF system for the national economies. Next, nine environmental footprint studies for selected product categories (so-called PEF pilot studies) were performed to create local capacity and expertise. These were leather and intermediate paper product for Egypt; two studies on wine and one on intermediate paper product in Lebanon; olive oil for Morocco; and pasta, olive oil, and dairy for Tunisia. The learnings from the pilot studies were shared in national dissemination events and used to formulate recommendations for enabling EF-compliant studies in regions outside of Europe.Results and discussionThere was high attendance to the awareness events in each country. The pilot studies showed many similarities with the European screening studies, but also important differences in the identification of most relevant impact categories, life cycle stages, and processes (‘hotspots analyses’), e.g. related to the local scarcity of water. Based on their pilot study, the local experts made concrete suggestions for shifting towards more sustainable consumption and production. One of the biggest successes of this project is that a couple of these recommendations have already been taken into account by the companies.Conclusions and recommendationsIn Egypt, Lebanon, and Tunisia, a few local experts with a significant level of LCA expertise could be identified and through this project we managed to create local PEF capacity too. In Morocco, more assistance was needed to finish the pilot study. This project made clear that the current ‘PEF and OEF methods’ have serious drawbacks for regions other than Europe. The rules of the EF method need to be reconsidered in order to enable EF-compliant studies in regions outside of Europe. In short, we recommend:1.Developing databases with local inventory data for regions outside of Europe;2.Enlarging access to EF-compliant data by extension of the free access and by facilitation of the availability of conversion tools;3.Taking the local availability of data into account when setting data quality requirements;4.Adapting the rules for data collection and quality to allow for more precise adaptations;5.Including in the PEFCR development, supporting studies for products manufactured outside the EU and/or in a geography with unusual conditions; and6.Updating existing rules specific for certain product categories regularly.

Industrial pollution in Bangladesh has posed a serious threat to human health, economic activity, and the environment. By emphasizing industries that produce major pollutants, substantial improvements can be made to pollution mitigation measures. In countries where primary pollution data is not readily available, the Industrial Pollution Projection System (IPPS) could be used to calculate the pollution load utilizing total industrial output or employment data. IPPS data, which was designed for developed countries like the USA, had been used directly for other countries without any normalization in previously reported studies. The main purpose of this study is to modify the current IPPS approach for any other country by incorporating specific correction factor for a specific country. In this study, a specific correction factor for Bangladesh was determined, taking into account the country’s major polluting industries, and used to estimate the pollution scenario for the year 2020. The accuracy of the specific pollution intensities was also evaluated by comparing the data obtained using both gross output and employee number. According to this study, the top three air-polluting industries are structural clay products, cement-lime-plaster industry, and iron and steel industry. Similarly, for water pollution, the food industry, paper and paper product industry, and textile industry are the largest pollutant contributors. The detailed pollution load matrix in terms of air and water pollution is also developed, and can be used to predict both short-term and long-term scenarios of industrial pollution in Bangladesh, which eventually will assist the policy makers to adopt appropriate pollution management approach. Moreover, the methods developed in this study will help to tailor the IPPS data for any country and increase the accuracy of the pollution load.

New innovations are called for to renew the European forest sector into bioeconomy. However, little research exists on how the industry innovativeness is publicly perceived. Using data collected with an online questionnaire in four European countries, we investigate perceptions related to forest sector innovations on 13 current and new bioeconomy-related products and services. Altogether, 218 valid responses were received in 2015, and the data were analysed using descriptive statistics, performance-importance analysis, and Gartner’s innovation hype cycle. Based on our results, the respondents were in the strongest agreement that the forest sector has since the year 2000 has produced innovations related to wood building systems, construction materials, and wood composites. In the next 15 years, they foresaw a decline in innovations related to biofuels and paper products. The European forest sector also has future potential in wood construction, which is likely related to international policy targets related to carbon mitigation and capture. The observed variation in perceptions among the respondents on forest sector innovativeness calls for strengthening industry R&D, as well as by improving societal awareness of ongoing innovation projects by developing better communication.