Key Insights from two 3-CO Project Interviews: Focus on Labels, Certification and Social Innovations

Margaux Le Gallou (left) and Nelo Emerencia (right) © 3-CO Concise consumer Communication

The Horizon Europe 3-CO conducted two insightful interviews with the project partner Margaux Le Gallou from ECOS and the project’s advisory board member Nelo Emerencia from the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC). They shared their perspectives on sustainability, consumer behaviour, and the crucial role of social innovation in fostering a sustainable future.

Tackling Consumer Challenges in Label and Certification Schemes (LCS)

Margaux Le Gallou highlighted the complexities of Label and Certification Schemes (LCS), particularly when aimed at consumers. Unlike B2B labels, which deal with experts and industry insiders, consumer-facing LCS must bridge the knowledge gap about biobased feedstock and sustainability issues. Consumers often make quick purchasing decisions without full understanding of sustainability criteria, increasing the risk of being misled by non-representative logos. To combat greenwashing and misinformation, Margaux stressed the importance of independent certification to ensure products meet specific sustainability criteria. She suggested that clear, accessible information should be provided on labels, e.g. by using QR codes, short explanatory texts, or icons to communicate a product’s sustainability.

Social Innovation as a Driver of Societal Change

Nelo Emerencia, explored the transformative potential of social innovation. He emphasised that social innovations are crucial for addressing societal challenges like reducing environmental footprints, promoting recycling, and accepting sustainable solutions. He highlighted the initiatives of many universities in Europe to adapt their education systems, particularly in chemistry and biochemistry, to help design innovative methods and tools to empower citizens and consumers to participate with industry to create a circular bio-society. Nelo mentioned several initiatives supporting this transition, including the Coordination and Support Actions (CSAs) in the BBI JU and collaborations with EU Youth Ambassadors. According to Nelo, successful social innovations are those that citizens recognise and adopt, leading to lasting behavioural changes toward sustainability.

A Shared Vision for a Sustainable Future

Both interviews from Margaux Le Gallou and Nelo Emerencia reflect the shared vision of the 3-CO project: to empower consumers and foster innovations that can drive societal change. Whether through improving the clarity and effectiveness of certification schemes or promoting social innovations that inspire sustainable living, their insights contribute to a future where sustainability is embedded into daily life.

The key objective of the project 3-CO (Concise Consumer Communication through Robust Labels for Biobased Systems) is to support sustainable consumption and improve consumer behaviour through smart digital solutions and guidelines for Labelling and Certification Scheme holders. 3-CO will therefore develop and demonstrate the viability of a supportive framework for LCS on Business-to-Consumers (B2C) communication for industrial bio-based products, and will publish guidelines for label development. The recommendations and guidelines will be verified in ten different value chains, which were selected based on their relevance.

Read all 3-CO interviews here: https://3co-project.eu/interviews/
Get more information on the project website: https://3co-project.eu/

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.