Protecting the environment is no easy task. We have, over the past few years, been inundated with information that is often too overwhelmingly scientific in terms that make it difficult for us to understand.  If I had to put the discourse on environment in simple terms, I would say this is nature’s wealth that today’s generation wants to leave for future generations. Well, not in such simple terms either. Protection of the environment is so vast a concept and encompasses so many different issues, which need to be addressed, that even giving easy examples does not do it justice.  Lobbying against development in rural areas is part of environment protection but environment protection also requires an analysis of lifestyle.

It is only in the last few years that we have started to grasp the purpose of waste separation and recycling. As we often hear, industrialisation has changed our life and there is no harm in that as long as we can ensure that we do not end up ruining the life of those who come after us. 

Businessmen have also recognised that the catchwords ‘environmentally friendly’ are good for business. They attract those of us who are convinced that we as individuals are obliged to give our small contribution towards ensuring a better environment. Some industries also ensure that their manufacturing methods are less harmful, for example by using low emission and environmentally friendly powered machinery. Of course the environment friendly policy of some companies stops at indicating that they use recycled paper or that they separate their waste. But then, even that is a start.

Investors have also realised that with the increase in education and awareness on the environment, consumers would gladly opt to buy a product that is environmentally friendly rather than one which is not. The detergent and cleaning cupboard in households has been revolutionised. Washing liquid containers have become smaller, aerosols have been changed to methods that cause less harm, garbage bags are biodegradable.  We have also started to recognise the effects of products that are damaging the environment on our food products. When at the supermarket, stop at the shelves that carry baby food and it is only within the last maybe two years that ranges of baby food made with organic products are on sale. 

Can we keep up to date with the industrial developments in this field? Do we assimilate information on green products correctly? A green product is one that does not necessarily cause harm to the environment, but that is environmentally preferable when compared to other products of the same type. Deodorant X would be a green product if the container used and the ingredients that make up the mixture are less harmful to the environment than other deodorants. This is not necessarily about the quality of the product itself, but more about using a good product that sees to your needs while at the same time causing less harm to the natural environment you share with others. 

The EU is determined that it too contributes towards ensuring a better environment for future generations. In April, the European Commission adopted the Single Market for Green Products Initiative, forging a way forward to allow the sale of green products within the different EU member states to be made easier and consequently more accessible to consumers. Currently, companies face different national systems when they market their products as green in different member states.  The European Parliament, through its Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, is in the process of drafting the ‘Eco-innovation – Jobs and Growth through environmental policy’, which seeks to not only reduce barriers for industries to market their products but also protect the consumer from ‘greenwashing’. 

However, while all these initiatives are recommendable and reflect the way forward, we must recognise that 15 per cent of EU citizens do not buy environmentally-friendly products. It is those who are more convinced of the benefits to society of green products that are more convinced that these products are good value for money. Despite this, 95 per cent of respondents to the Flash Eurobarometer 367 titled “Building the single market for green products” agreed that using environmentally friendly products is ‘the right thing to do’. In Malta, 82 per cent indicated that they are confident that green products are less harmful to the environment. 

Maybe the use of green products is less controversial than that of structural development and probably since this industry has recognised that it can still make a profit and remain economically viable by producing green products.  It would be interesting to see this idea being taken up by developers.

Dr Comodini Cachia is a Nationalist Party candidate in the European Parliament elections