Decision Support System for Evaluating Impact of Product Carbon Labeling Scheme

In this paper a decision support system for systematically evaluating the impact of labeling products with their carbon footprints is developed and applied to prioritize products for carbon labeling in a large supermarket chain in the UK.Carbon labels may change consumers’ behavior and encourage suppliers to implement carbon-reduction solutions.Those changes may,however,lead to unintended risks.To handle the challenges of uncertainties in the evaluation,the Evidential Reasoning approach and the Intelligent Decision System software for multi-criteria decision analysis are applied to support the process.The system developed can be applied to assessing the impact of sustainable development policies to maximize their benefits and minimize their risks.

Consumer behavior patterns of carbon neutral label using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology

China has paid considerable attention to developing and implementing a carbon labeling system in response to increasing environmental issues such as global warming.This paper aims to provide a theoretical basis for formulating and implementing a carbon labeling system in China through a study of consumer acceptance behavior and its influencing factors.This paper constructed an extended model of consumers’acceptance behavior of carbon neutral labels based on the theories and methods of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology(UTAUT)and analyzed the effects of five factors(carbon label cognition,performance expectancy,effort expectancy,social influence,and facilitating factors)on consumer carbon neutral label acceptance and adoption.The structural equation model analysis revealed that carbon label cognition,performance expectancy,social influence,and facilitating factors significantly,and positively impact consumers’acceptance of carbon neutral labels.Moreover,carbon label cognition,performance expectancy,and facilitating factors significantly,and positively affect consumers’carbon neutral label adoption behavior.Meanwhile,carbon label cognition,and effort expectancy have no significant impact on consumers’willingness to accept carbon neutral labels,which in turn significantly impacts consumers’carbon neutral label adoption behavior.According to the research findings,increasing the promotion of carbon labeling and improving the practical strategies and management recommendations for carbon label design are proposed.

An empirical research on the determinants of Chinese college students' carbon label cognition and interpersonal communication willingness

Carbon labels are innovative medium and tools for climate change communication and lowcarbon marketing.This study aims at examining how college students are aware of low-carbon and carbon labels,whether they are more willing to communicate low-carbon ideas,and also the determinants affecting their interpersonal communication of carbon labels.The multiple regression analysis shows that Chinese college students' willingness of interpersonal communication of carbon labels are significantly influenced by their awareness of climate change crisis,the perceived value of carbon labels,the consideration of product environmental attributes,the preferences of carbon labels,the household background,and their educational background.In response to these factors,this paper proposes,in a public perspective,the strategies to enhance the dissemination of carbon labels.

Informing Food Consumption Choices: Innovations in Measuring and Labelling

The need to inform consumers about the health impact of their food choices is ever more pressing in a world where obesity is a growing problem. Concerns over food safety, its origins and its environmental impacts are also growing, as frequently reported in the popular press in many parts of the world. Nutritional and health information on food labels is quite well developed, but the complex nature of the information presented may hinder widespread use of the existing labels. In comparison, there has been little widespread success of carbon labels on food, and their usefulness in reducing carbon emissions from consumption is uncertain. In an attempt to address the need for clearer information on health and environmental impacts of food purchases, we present a novel dual-purpose food labelling system which provides information on both health and environmental impacts of food items. This paper presents results from a pilot study introducing a novel approach to food labelling: a simplified, combined carbon and health label to inform consumers simultaneously about the environmental and health impacts of their choices. Environmental impacts of various food categories were calculated on the basis of their relative energy use along the supply chain by using a newly designed Food Energy Index. Health impacts were based on the NuVal system developed in the USA in 2010. As part of the Norfolk Island Carbon and Health Evaluation study (NICHE), labels were designed, tested and displayed on 25 food categories for a 3-month period in the main supermarket on Norfolk Island (Australia). The in-store labelling trial was followed by a consumer survey on their attitudes to the labels. The results from this pilot trial indicate that consumers were supportive of food labelling including both environmental and health impacts, but the information provided in the dual labels was not sufficient to induce changes in consumption between food categories. We conclude that simple label design is clearly essential, and our findings warrant further investigation, including a broader study using a larger population and a wider range of food categories.