GLOBAL THIRD-PARTY CERTIFICATION AND LABELLING

This handbook makes it easy to choose the best global certification and labelling schemes. The book is targeting companies wishing to document their efforts in the field of sustainable development and to avoid greenwashing.

The certfication and labelling schemes have been selected according to a systematic method - The Butterfly Model - which has two wings: credibility and market value. Each scheme achieves a score based on 36 well-defined criteria. After reading the handbook it will be possible to assess all kinds of certification and labelling schemes and select the most suitable ones.

The book will help the readers to distinguish between the credible labelling systems from the less credible on the market. The method of assessing individual certification schemes has been developed by the authors of the book: certifications and labelling experts Jakob Zeuthen and Lars Ludvigsen.

The book has established a common international ‘grammar’ to understand the value of all kinds of certification and labelling schemes that support sustainable transition. In 2018, the model was applied to the 51 leading schemes on the Danish market and was published in a Danish book. Now, the model is published in a further developed English version focusing on brands with global coverage. As a further development, each of the schemes are also assessed against the seventeen SDGs developed by the UN.

All 18 labelling schemes represent credible and recommendable schemes, although they achieve a different score. The schemes that do not meet the minimum criteria are not included in the book at all. Thus, the book can be considered a current Hall of Fame for global, sustainable certification and labelling schemes.

The book is 100 pages.