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The market transformation process makes use of a range of policy instruments to achieve significant and lasting environmental improvements of products, including:
Product Information
- Enables and stimulates competition based on the environmental performance of products. It allows consumers and procurers in public and private sector organisations to make an informed choice before making the purchase.
- Is based on an agreed test methodology to determine the product’s environmental performance. As such product information is an essential part of any market transformation strategy and also a necessary prerequisite before best practice standards and minimum performance standards can be set.
Examples of information instruments are:
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Product Databases
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Energy Labels
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- Voluntary Glazing Labelling Scheme
Minimum Performance Standards
- remove or discourage the worst performing products and promote those that exceed minimum performance levels.
- tackle poor practice by suppliers, dealers, installers and procurers which obstruct the use of resource efficient products.
Examples of minimum standards are:
- Industry Codes of Conduct in the Consumer Electronics Sector.
- CECED Industry Commitment on Energy Efficiency of Washing Machines.
Best Practice Initiatives
- encourage buyers to obtain products that offer the best environmental performance.
- seek to increase the market of the most efficient products currently available to volume markets.
Examples of initiatives that promote best practice are:
- Energy Efficiency Commitments
- EU Energy Star programme
- Energy Saving Recommended scheme
- Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme
Future Best Practice
- encourages innovation and explorative behaviour by suppliers, dealers, installers and end-users.
- brings forward products of very high environmental performance which are not yet available to volume markets.
Examples of initiatives that bring forward future best practice are:
Market Transformation Strategies
The figure below illustrates how individual policy instruments can form part of a market transformation strategy that seeks to achieve significant and lasting efficiency improvements of products and services.
The figure shows product sales in relation to a product's environmental impact. Before intervention sales levels are likely to be dominated by products with a higher environmental impact (red line). After the introduction of market transformation policies sales shift towards products that have less environmental impacts (blue and then green line) and how new better performing products are being encouraged e.g. minimum standards, promoting good and best practice and encouraging innovation.
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