Comparative Testing for Sustainable Lifestyles

CI World Congress, Sydney 2007

Content

• Who and what is ICRT?

• Why publish comparative tests?

• How to include criteria related to sustainability?

• Limitations and challenges?

What is ICRT?

• ICRT is an international consortium of consumer organisations that carry out joint research and testing

• Non profit company limited by shares

• Only consumer organisations can be shareholders

Who can be member of ICRT?

Consumer organisations that carry out consumer research and testing provided that they:– act exclusively in the interest of consumers– do not take advertising in their magazine – are independent of commerce, industry and

political parties– are not influenced by subsidies, sponsorship or

incentives– capable of carrying out a minimum level of testing

activity and publishing the results

ICRT Members

• Germany, UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, USA

• Austria, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Russia

• Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, India, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore

• Brazil, Chile

Aims of ICRT

Increase the cost effectiveness of testing and research.

Develop common test programmes and evaluation methods.

To avoid publication of contradictory reports on the same product.

Help smaller organisations to develop testing To provide a legal framework for joint testing

with established rules and guidelines.

Some figures

• Secretariat with 10 members of staff • 40 big joint tests per year• 10 continuous tests• 150 smaller joint tests• Use around 60 laboratories• Spend around € 6 million per year• Test around 5 000 products

Why publish comparative tests?

• They confront the buyers with a real choice based on objective criteria

• Gives clear information on what can be improved

• Influence the behaviour of companies through the buying choices of the consumers

• Consumers are willing to pay for this “golden” information, indicating a clear need

What criteria to include in a test?

• Traditional test includes:– Performance– Convenience– Safety– Durability– Energy consumption– Environmental criteria (since late 70s)

• New since 2000:– Ethical criteria

What criteria to include in a test?• Recent trends:

– More emphasis on environmental aspects• Recycling• Use problematic materials• Stand by energy and total energy consumption• Life cycle analysis

– Social Responsibility criteria• Social criteria• Transparency

Examples of Methods used in CSR research

• Research and analysis of information in the public domain

• Questionnaires to be completed by companies• Anonymous calls and letters• Company meetings or visits• Factory visits and audits• Interviewing employees• Peer review

Examples of references used in CSR research

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights• International Labour Organisation• OECD Guidelines• Rio declaration and Kyoto protocol• SA 8000• UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection• Global Reporting Initiative • Global Compact

Advantages of comparative testing

• Name and blame bad products

• Promote better products

• Put strong pressure on the manufacturers

• Better coverage by the media

• Compile real data that become strong weapons for our lobby departments

Examples of recent achievements

• Dramatic reduction of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) in DIY products and tyres in 1 year

• Reduction of standby energy from 100 to less than 1 Watt in most products

• Reduction of water and energy consumption of large household appliances by more than 50%

• Accepting CSR criteria by manufacturers increased from 40% to 80% in 3 years

Comparative CSR research

• Toys Publication had a huge impact on the behaviour of the importers/manufacturers

• Pharmaceuticals Publication was used successfully by CI for campaigning

• Clothing Retail Chains Publication impacted directly on the market

Upcoming research for 2008

• Parquet floors and wooden floors • Electronic waste • Energy use Christmas illuminations • Fire works (labour conditions)• Kitchen material • Banks • Tea • TVs • Cotton products • Washing machines

Limitations and challenges• Input side

– Not all consumer organisations are convinced that CSR research is a valid task for them

– CSR Research is very expensive– Need for strong coordination in order to avoid

contradictory results– Struggle on how to publish: included into

specific product rating or not– Complexity of the issues: not easy to

summarize into ratings

Limitations and challenges

• Output side– Limited interest of readers (average scores)– Risk of generalisation– Difficulty of changing behaviour

• The challenge is the integration of sustainability criteria as a real aspect of the quality of a product

Possible criticism on comparative testing

• Pushing to increased consumption?

• Do ethical issues not overrule all the other criteria?

for discussion….

Thank you for your attention

Guido Adriaenssens

Sydney, 30 Oct 2007