| Author(s) |
Alexandre Volle |
The ecological challenges of the 21st century require the production system to adopt virtuous and less polluting practices. This explains the introduction of environmental standards and the growing use of ecolabels by companies (over the last five years: +32% for the FSC - Forest Stewardship Council ecolabel, +66% for the MSC - Marine Stewardship Council ecolabel). However, the latter labels have come in for criticism for being unreliable because they may have been tampered with. The "Diesel Gate", for example, highlighted the fraudulent manoeuvres of certain car manufacturers between 2009 and 2015 in relation to the polluting emissions of some of their engines. As a result, monitoring compliance with environmental standards has lost much of its credibility. Fraud is compounded by limited inspection resources, the existence of certifiers who are overly interested in making a profit, and the proliferation of eco-labels, which blurs the message intended for consumers.
