EnR hosted global webinar at #EUSEW2022 on water and energy labelling impact in consumer choices

The EnR’s task force on Water-Energy Nexus organized an open webinar on the value of water & energy labelling to promote smarter consumer choices, last September 27th. The event was a Sustainable Energy Day, the partner programme of EU Sustainable Energy Week .

With over 250 registered participants, the webinar brought together experts and policy makers from the European Energy Network (EnR) , European Commission , US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) , Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water , UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs , BEUC - The European Consumer Organisation , and the industry initiative Unified Water Label Association.

(Re)watch the full session in our Youtube channel. [Download the full agenda and speaker bios.]

The discussion focused on how labelling schemes can improve water-energy performance in the taps&showers market, as the combined savings of both resources becomes ever more critical in the current climate emergency and unstable energy security contexts.

After an opening session by Nelson Lage (President the Portuguese Energy Agency, ADENE - Agência para a Energia and President of EnR in 2022) and Jo?o Galamba (Portuguese Secretary of State of Environment and Energy), who both highlighted the critical nature of savings in the context of water scarcity and the energy crisis we are facing, the session kicked off with the presentation of preliminary results of the consumer survey that the European Energy Network is running on the perception and attitudes towards labelling and labelled products.

Presented by ADENE’s Filipa Newton and Vanessa Faia , the results so far highlight the need consumers feel to have more information on water and energy use in this type of products, through labelling, in order to make their choices.

[Read the executive summary, and check out the presentation about the consumer survey. You can also still answer the survey until October 30 in one of the 15 available languages.]

Three keynote speeches provided insights into new developments in European Union policy for sustainable products, as well as lessons learnt from well established examples in the United States and Australia.

Pierre Henry , Team Leader at the Sustainable Products & Circular Economy Unit at DG-ENV, presented the newly released Circular Economy Package, entailing a new eco-design working plan for 2022-2024 with a wider product scope, opening the door to all non-energy products.

The Water Efficiency and Standards (WELS) now mandatory in Australia was presented by Kirsty Bunfield , the General Manager and Regulator. The scheme, that went from a regional voluntary application to a national mandatory system today, is recognized by 70% of Australians and covers more than 22 000 products.

[Kirsty Bunfield's Presentation on WELS; Website: WELS water rating website; Contact: [email protected]; Institute for Sustainable Future (2018) Evaluation of the Environmental and Economic Impacts of the WELS Scheme]

On the other hand, the experience from the Water Sense Program in the United States, presented by Stephanie Tanner , its lead engineer, shows that also a wide adoption and acceptance can be achieved with a voluntary scheme. Currently, more than 40 000 products are covered in the USA.

[Stephanie Tanner's Presentation on WaterSense; Website: Water Sense]

The savings achieved in Australia amount to 70,000 Olympic swimming pools (158 G Litres) and 2.3 Mt CO2 avoided emissions each year, whereas in the US, the estimates reach 135 billion dollars savings in water and energy bills, water savings equivalent to 8 months water use by all U.S. households and 317 Mt of avoided emissions of GHG (Green House Gases).

The session followed with a roundtable discussing several options on the table in Europe, with Aaron Burton representing the UK Government ( Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ), currently on track to implement a mandatory scheme, as well as Yvonne Orgill representing the voluntary industry initiative Unified Water Label . Also participating with the view of the energy agencies, was Manuel Sapiano , CEO of The Energy and Water Agency of Malta (EWA), and the consumers’ perspective represented by Silvia Barlassina , from BEUC - The European Consumer Organisation .

The roundtable, moderated by Filipa Newton , from Adene, highlighted the point that labelling can be an important ally for a fundamental market transition towards more efficient products. With a combination of strategies, and taking advantage of voluntary or mandatory schemes, labelling can be a key tool that can help manage water and energy demand through technological advances in the different industries and through changes to consumer behaviour.

Common rules, such as the recent ISO 31600:2022, will allow for an easier product standardization between different markets. This can facilitate adoption and make labelling attractive for large market players, even on a voluntary basis, since consumers are prone to nudging behaviour with clear information provided by labels.

Labelling of water-energy efficiency combined, as the new European approach opens the door to, will certainly contribute to swiftly move the market towards more efficient products and fixtures, reducing water use, optimizing energy efficiency in water use. This approach can provide both immediate financial benefits to consumers, as well as critical environmental benefits by saving precious resources.

Main highlights from interventions and discussion

Nelson Lage , the President of the Portuguese Energy Agency ( ADENE - Agência para a Energia ) and of the European Energy Network (EnR) highlighted the opportunities for combined water and energy savings in buildings, both for new buildings but, also very importantly, for retrofits, in which changing equipment can create new lock in periods. Retrofits must be leveraged to increase efficiency in built environment, and for this to happen with both water and energy efficiency in mind, labelling is a critical tool.

Jo?o Galamba , the Portuguese Secretary of State for Energy and Environment, focused on water availability and water risks under the impacts of a changing climate as a major challenge that must be met with the utmost urgency. In buildings and in domestic use, a major source of savings remains untapped, with a large potential for the combined water and energy efficiency of taps & showers. As Europe progresses on sustainable product design and labelling, this discussion, between water and energy policy makers from around the world is critical.

Filipa Newton , from ADENE - Agência para a Energia & Chair of the Water-Energy Nexus Task force at the European Energy Network (EnR) Force, introduced EnR motivations for this Webinar and European Survey, as well as the significant water efficiency and water-energy nexus potential that led to deployment of Portuguese @AQUA+ water rating schemes for buildings (www.aquamais.pt). Filipa highlighted the need to have a common European label for water use products, and the need to listen to consumers when discussing a water efficiency label, as they are the main targets of the schemes.

Vanessa Faia , from the Portuguese Energy Agency ADENE & a member of the Task Force of the European Energy Network, presented preliminary findings of the European consumer survey held by EnR. Results reveal that consumers want labels for water-use products (such as taps, showers and flushing systems) to help them make more efficient choices and that they value both water and energy information. This survey is still open for answers. Participate until October 30 and join other consumers around Europe in this discussion about labeling schemes.

[Read the executive summary, and check out the presentation about the consumer survey. You can also still answer the survey until October 30 in one of the 15 available languages.]

Pierre Henry , Team Leader at the Sustainable Products, Circular Economy Unit, Directorate-General for Environment (DG-ENV of the European Commission (EC), brought new light into the discussion, presenting the Circular Economy Package launched on March 30th, 2022. It includes a new eco-design working plan for 2022-2024 with a wider product scope, opening the door to all non-energy products, introducing new product requirements and information targeted at consumers (including Digital Product Passport and Labels), making it possible to have, when needed, other dedicated labels rather than just the energy label.

Kirsty Bunfield , the General Manager and Regulator of the Water Efficiency and Standards (WELS) for the Australian Government ( Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water ), presented the vast experience and impacts of the WELS Water Rating for water use products (fixtures and washing machines), ranging 22,000 products, recognized by 70% of Australians. Current water savings reach the equivalent of 70,000 Olympic swimming pools (158 G Litres) and 2.3 Mt CO2 avoided emissions each year. Kirsty also introduced the newly launched ISO 31600:2022, for International Standardization on Water efficiency labelling programmes, led by Australian Government and a strong contribution labelling schemes development or adoption in Europe and worldwide.

Stephanie Tanner , the Lead Engineer for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ’s WaterSense? Program, shared WaterSense Product Certification impacts on water and energy savings for US consumers. The programme covers ?40,000 labeled models and, since 2006, 135 billion dollars savings in water and energy bills, water savings equivalent to 8 months water use by all U.S. households and 317 Mt of avoided GHG emissions (Green House Gas). Even being kept as voluntary, WaterSense label is being mainstreamed in the U.S. market, through 2,100 organizational partners, green standards and programs recognition, alignment with ISO 31600:2022 criteria, State and Municipal Regulations (in some cases mandatory) and by utility incentives for labelled products.

At the roundtable, Manuel Sapiano , the Chief Executive Officer of The Energy and Water Agency (EWA) within Malta’s Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise, provided important evidence on market transition towards efficiency in Malta, after the introduction of the EU energy label fostered by financial incentives to more efficient products. Manuel believes the same might happen with a water label (to tap into water savings potential of water-use products), and that a combined single label to rate water and energy performance of these products might produce even stronger results towards water and energy efficiency goals.

Silvia Barlassina , Ecodesign project coordinator at BEUC - The European Consumer Organisation and its sister organisation ANEC , which represents European consumers in the creation of technical standards, shared her views on the importance of having a common label for all EU member-states and for a wider European market. Agreeing on the urgency to deploy an EC led initiative for labelling, Silvia also expressed that it could be important to take advantage of existing voluntary initiatives which could help achieve 2030 climate mitigation and adaptation targets and provide options for consumers immediately, as they are now more demanding and want to be able to compare products. Silvia also stressed that mandatory minimum water and energy efficiency requirements for these products should be guaranteed from the start, eliminating other products from the EU market, so as to not leave all responsibility on consumer choices.

Aaron Burton , Head of Water Efficiency and Demand Management, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), United Kingdom, stressed that the mandatory water efficiency labelling approach being followed is based on strong support from independent evidence from the Energy Saving Trust on the benefits of several types of labelling and also on a consultation on measures to reduce personal water use, which both supported the approach. The regulations to introduce the mandatory scheme were then developed in 2021, designed around the ISO 31600:2022 standard, to guarantee the fundamental comparable approaches in a global market. This is now under consultation (link below).

[Find out more: Water Efficiency Strategy for the UK 2030 [Not Government Policy] J37880-Waterwise_Water_Efficiency_Strategy_Inners_Landscape_WEB.pdf; 2021 Written Ministerial Statement on reducing demand for water Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament; Consultation on Environment Act Targets, including Water Demand Target https://consult.defra.gov.uk/natural-environment-policy/consultation-on-environmental-targets/; ?Ongoing consult on the UK Mandatory Water Efficiency Label; Press release on labelling consultation New labelling to protect water supplies and cut energy bills - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)]

Yvonne Orgill , Managing Director, Unified Water Label Association, explained how the industry wanted to play its part with the initiative of developing a labelling scheme to deliver to the market a cohesive message on label to the end user. Originally built on the Ecodesign framework, the scheme is a portal that brings together the technical criteria of the existing schemes, a one-stop-shop for the schemes that currently exist, representing around 70% of the European market. The Unified Water Label also participated in the development of the ISO 31600:2022 standard and is a recognized labelling scheme within it. Yvonne, while recognizing the labelling schemes have already influenced market transformation, by introducing more efficient products, believes that now there's a need to incentivize consumers to swap the old for the new, accelerating the process. Yvonne stresses that this is particularly important in a cost of living crisis like the one we are entering, and that it is urgent to create the right incentives to male sure we have water today and tomorrow!

?[Find out more about the Unified Water Label]