July 2015: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has published a report, titled ‘Product Sustainability Information: State of Play and Way Forward,’ which provides recommendations to advance product sustainability information (PSI) use by consumers in support of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) through a life cycle approach.

The publication provides four specific recommendations to advance PSI use in consumer decision making. They include: providing guidance for interoperability of PSI tools, and managing concerns over trade barriers while reducing uncertainty in the information produced; encouraging PSI actors such as label and tools associations to use life cycle-based principles as criteria for aligning their work; facilitating the inclusion and engagement of developing and emerging economy representatives in international PSI efforts; and creating an international dialogue between brand owners, retailers, consumer organizations and policymakers to take into account the diverse cultures and contexts involved.

The report highlights that the need to determine the social, health and environmental impact of the millions of different consumer products necessitates an effective sustainability metric or tool that can reduce complexity while minimizing distortion and uncertainty. It estimates that over 600 such tools are on the market, yet they are neither universal nor do they fully rate products’ sustainability, leaving it to consumers to draw their own conclusions. The report thus recommends rethinking PSI in terms of accessibility and recommends aligning procedures and interoperability of systems to allow for different and competing tools, as well as for innovation and increased effectiveness.

The report features specific sections on: objectives and scope; methodology; complexities of PSI, including the science behind sustainability information and credibility, and the role of ISO standardization; stakeholders, including a short description of the various groups involved; drivers of and barriers to sustainability information; the tools and initiatives landscape, including a framework for categorizing the sustainability of information tools; and recommendations, including developing an aligned global vision among stakeholders. The report also includes two appendices detailing launch dates of product sustainability tools and initiatives and listing organizations interviewed. [Publication: Product Sustainability Information: State of Play and Way Forward]