[Architecture & Urbanism, August 2001] As the world’s environmental consciousness is progressing, the needs toward environmental products are increasing too. Green Label therefore gradually plays an important role in international trade.

Since 1970s’, there are many countries in the world promoting green labels and most of them are voluntary schemes. Among the various green label schemes, Blue Angel, launched by the Germany since 1977, is the world’s first green label.

Today, there are about 50 different types of green labels around the world. In Asia, countries such as China, India, Japan, Korean, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have already launched their green label schemes.

Looking back to our city, the Hong Kong SAR government pointed out in the Waste Reduction Framework Plan (WRFP) that environmentally friendly purchasing (ERP) is an effective way to encourage consumers to purchase products with improved recyclability, reduced packaging, greater durability, and high recycled content.

More and more products in the market claim that they are “environmental products”. To assist consumers in identifying genuine environmental products, it is necessary to establish a reliable, independent and widely acceptable green label scheme. The Hong Kong Green Council and the Hong Kong Productivity Council worked together and established the Hong Kong Green Label Scheme in 2001.

The Hong Kong Green Label Scheme has close connections with the Hong Kong environment, society and economy. According to the 2001 Policy Address by the Chief Executive, the meaning of “sustainable development” included the following:

1. do not forget to reduce pollution and waste while striking for a higher living standard and better economy;
2. do not endanger our descendants while fulfilling our desires and needs;
3. minimise the environmental impacts on our neighbouring areas, work together to conserve the resources that we share.

Therefore, sustainable development relates to every aspect of the society including environment, society and economy. And green label also plays an important role in sustainable development too. The major reasons are as follow:

1. Green Label can boost the proportion of waste collected and recycled, which in turn reduce pollution problem and improve the environment of Hong Kong.
2. Green Label encourages consumers to take note of product contents and their impacts on the environment when they make purchases. Long term speaking, this can enrich the knowledge of consumers in environmental products and help them understand more about what kinds of substances are good or bad for the environment. Finally, they would help to protect the environment and conserve natural resources.
3. The relation between Green Label and Hong Kong economy is very intimate. If Green Label is successfully promoted to Hong Kong people, their concept of green consumerism will grow higher. It will in turn lead to improvement of the business environment, thereby attracting more travelers and investors to Hong Kong and make the economy sustainable.

Therefore, Green Label should not be restricted to superficial promotion work, slogans or images only. It is more important to let the public fully understand the concept and meaning of environmental protection. In the past, environmental protection is limited to civic education. As time goes by, it should progress to a more intellectual level where education should be given to everybody. In other words, conservation should start with education.

In this circumstance, the government should adhere to the policy of sustainable development; strike a balance between economic development and environmental protection; promote “green consumerism”; enrich the knowledge of citizens in sustainable development and give them a deeper understanding of environmental products and the meanings behind Green Label. With sustainable development as the general trend, coupled with market mechanism and government’s environmental policy, it is hoped that manufacturers will be encouraged to compete in a healthy way and improve their products to seek Green Label and the greatest economic reward.