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Guidelines for Providing Product Sustainability Information translated into Russian

  • Published on February 23, 2022

With support of Ecological Union and Leroy Merlin, the Guidelines for Providing Product Sustainability Information were translated into Russian and presented at the largest retail forum in Russia - Ecomference Rupost Retail Week on 8 October 2021 in Skolkovo Technopark.

Ecological Union and One Planet network presented the Guide created by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) and International Trade Centre in collaboration with members of the Consumer Information Programme. The initiative was supported by the leaders of retail in Russia – Leroy Merlin and X5 Group, as well as the Russian Retail Marketing Association (POPAI)

 

Why is this guide important for Russian business?

Climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and other sustainability concerns impact shopping behavior all around the world. In Russia 62% of consumers are ready to buy more sustainable products, so more and more manufacturers are responding to this trend. However, not all are willing to invest in actually greening production processes or social initiatives and commitments - many companies contribute to greenwashing instead when declaring products as sustainable without sufficient proof.

The Guidelines for Providing Product Sustainability Information help responsible manufacturers to communicate about the sustainability of their products in a credible way in order to attract attention of buyers and help them to select products responsibly.

The first feedback on the Guidelines was received during its presentation at the expert session "Sustainability: Providing information on the sustainability of products" at Ecomference Rupost Retail Week.

Yulia Gracheva, Director of Ecological Union, member of Global Ecolabelling Network:

“The Guidelines are universal: all ten principles are applicable in any country, including Russia. The guide suits any target audience: production companies, retailers and certification schemes.”

Ekaterina Ivanova, Head of the Department of Social and Environmental responsibility at Leroy Merlin:

“In developing our requirements for suppliers we relied on these guidelines to communicate a greener approach to our clients.”

Vasily Fokin, Head of Sustainable Development at Danone Russia:

“What people want in business is a “happiness pill”. It's a versatile recipe which you can use immediately to move forward and do the cool right things. This guide contains elements of this happiness pill!”

 The presentation of the Guidelines and the discussion were supported by the leading Russian business media: 1Platform, Rusbase and Retail.ru. The Ecological Union plans to promote the Guidelines among Russian companies.  Experts of the Ecological Union will present, discuss and motivate implementation of this tool at eco- and business events, such as the Ecolabelling Club "Vitality Leaf", Russian Retail Week Forum, webinars of the Global Ecolabelling Network and others.

You can download the Guidelines in Russian here: https://www.oneplanetnetwork.org/sites/default/files/from-crm/guidelines_full_russian.pdf

 

А 5-minute video presentation of the Guidelines is available here:

The Russian version of the video is avialble here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSgcJHcMDr8

 

 

 

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