Products bearing the European Ecolabel label, or equivalent national and regional ones managed by government bodies, are on average more affordable in Europe. However, they are not equally available across all EU member states. This is the finding of a new report published by the European consumer organisation Beuc and the European Environment Bureau (Eeb).

The analysis carried out in supermarkets across thirteen European countries

The analysis is based on monitoring carried out – thanks to collaboration with a number of national consumer associations – in supermarkets across thirteen countries, where consumer prices were verified (then compared with those of products not bearing the Ecolabel) and shelf availability was assessed. The findings show that customers seek out low-environmental-impact products, but finding them is not always straightforward.

There are therefore at least two positive findings: the first is that awareness of sustainability is increasingly shaping individual consumer choices. The second is that producing in a way that respects the environment and climate is not necessarily an economic burden: on the contrary, in the majority of the countries surveyed, Ecolabel or equivalent products turn out to be less expensive. In some cases, significantly so.

Scandinavian countries stand out for Ecolabel product availability

The thirteen countries analysed are Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia. In Scandinavian countries, however, these products are far easier to find: in Denmark and Norway the rates stand at 80 and 61 per cent respectively.

These are, however, virtuous peaks that other nations cannot even come close to matching: third place in the availability ranking goes to the Netherlands at 19 per cent, followed by Portugal (17 per cent), France (12 per cent) and Slovakia (11 per cent). Italy and Germany fail to exceed the 10 per cent threshold (with 10 and 9 per cent respectively); even lower figures are recorded for Slovenia (7), Belgium (5), Hungary (3), Cyprus and Greece (both with a meagre 2 per cent).

From the standpoint of price analysis, three cases run counter to the trend: Slovenia, Slovakia and France, where Ecolabel or equivalent products are more expensive than average. While in France the difference is negligible (+2 per cent), in Slovenia and Slovakia the figures are considerably higher: +26 and +20 per cent respectively.

In Germany Ecolabel products are 27 per cent cheaper, in Italy only 5 per cent

By contrast, it is in Germany where products bearing the European label appear markedly less expensive than others: -27 per cent. Greece (-22 per cent) and Norway (-20 per cent) follow, while savings of between 10 and 20 per cent have been recorded in Denmark, the Netherlands, Portugal, Hungary and Cyprus. In Italy, Ecolabel products cost on average just 5 per cent less.

The conclusion drawn is that certified sustainable offerings need to be more widely promoted, and that it is necessary to understand what barriers stand in the way of market penetration, particularly in certain countries. "Retailers play a fundamental role in making sustainable options available and ensuring that what is marketed as ecological or sustainable truly is – the Beuc and Eeb report underlines –. They are the ones who decide which products to stock in their stores and have the power to select more sustainable suppliers or develop own-brand products certified with reliable ecolabels".