Cool Products for a Cool Planet

Coolproducts is a campaign to set ambitious minimum requirements for energy efficiency and other environmental aspects of products sold in the European Union. It aims to make it easier for consumers in Europe - a market of almost 500 million people - to choose greener products and fight climate change.

Summary

View the Website [EN - English]

The Coolproducts for a Cool Planet website aims to inform people, in an engaging and non-technical way, about what is going on behind the scenes concerning energy efficient products. This is important because this policy will transform the products we use and change our lives for the better. We need to understand what is happening, and why. Partners associated with this activity include:

• ECOS,  an umbrella organisation of Environmental NGOs created to enhance the voice of environmental protection in the definition of standards and specifications for products and services in the European Union.
• European Environmental Bureau
• Friends of the Earth - Europe
• Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland e.V. (Germany)
• Green Alliance, an influential environmental think tank working to ensure UK political leaders deliver ambitious solutions to global environmental issues
• Natuur & Milieu, Netherlands
• ECODES, an independent organisation that acts in favor of sustainable development (Spain)

The website indicates that the products we use in our every day life - from computers to TVs, and boilers to warm our homes - consume a lot of energy and have impacts on the environment. Boilers and water heaters alone are responsible for the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as the whole of the transport sector! Forcing manufacturers to make these products greener is absolutely essential if we want to save the climate and the environment, and decrease energy bills. We also need to improve their recyclability and get rid of the toxic chemicals some of them contain. Many consumers are already trying to do their bit by looking for more energy and ecologically efficient products on the market. But it is still difficult and many of us are also confused. The wide choice available, the lack of regulation to remove polluting products from the market, and the lack of reliable information all make it hard to figure out what to buy. This website addresses some of these issues.

Related Information on the Regions 202020 Website:

• Sustainable Energy Theme(s): Energy Efficient Products

Last updated: 08/03/2012 10:31am - Contact: Katy HALL -