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Interest in product‐level carbon auditing and labelling has been growing in both business and government circles. The purpose of this paper is to examine the practical problems and costs associated with highly disaggregated analyses of greenhouse gas emissions from supply chains. It then weighs these problems and costs against the potential benefits of the carbon labelling of products.

The views expressed in this paper are based on a review of relevant literature, informal discussions with senior managers and personal experience with the practices being investigated.

Stock‐keeping unit‐level carbon auditing of supply chains and the related carbon labelling of products will be fraught with difficulty and very costly. While simplification of the auditing process, the use of data inventories and software support may assist these processes, the practicality of applying them to all consumer products seems very doubtful. The resulting benefits to companies and consumers are also highly questionable. The main conclusion, therefore, is that product‐level carbon auditing and labelling is a “wasteful distraction” and that it would be better to devote management time and resources to other decarbonisation initiatives.

To date relatively few firms have carbon audited their supply chains at a product level and so industrial experience is limited. Market research on the likely behavioural response to carbon labelling is also at an early stage. There is sufficient evidence available, however, to conduct an initial critique of product level carbon auditing and labelling.

Some companies and government agencies should reconsider their plans for the carbon labelling of products.

This is the first paper in the logistics/supply chain literature to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this new form of carbon footprinting and labelling. It is intended to stimulate debate among logistics academics and practitioners.

The purpose of this paper is to critically reflect on the effects that carbon labelling of food products will have on consumer purchasing behaviour and on reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.

The paper summarises the findings from research on organic food‐purchasing behaviour and discusses how this can be applied to the new field of carbon labelling of food. Two consumer behaviour studies specifically examining carbon labelling are also reviewed.

Although consumers have positive attitudes to preserving the environment, sales of organic products are low for several reasons: perceived high price, strong habits governing food purchases, perceived low availability, lack of marketing and information, lack of trust in the labelling system, and low perceived customer effectiveness. All these obstacles apply to the purchase of carbon labelled products and several are even greater for carbon‐labelled products, since these do not bring any personal benefits to the consumer, unlike the perceived case for organic products.

A carbon labelling scheme must be introduced carefully to avoid confusing the consumer. The goal of the carbon labelling system must be defined, and the label and labelling system designed and managed to meet that goal.

Lessons learned from the abundant research on purchasing behaviour regarding organic food are applied to the new field of carbon labelling for the first time. Fields in need of further research for the successful introduction of carbon labelling schemes are identified.

Organizational Development and Change (ODC) has been called to aid organizational greening goals. Carbon labeling of products by organizations is a common greening strategy. However, its effectiveness is dependent on supportive consumer behavior. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is used to explain actor choice in buying low carbon products (LCPs). Actual buying behavior of 873 subjects in China, a country new to carbon labeling, demonstrated that Declarative norms, Attitude, and Perceived behavioral control explained significant variance in actual buying behavior of LCPs. The TPB model may be better served by observing actual behavior versus behavioral intention. Revisions to the TPB model for diagnosis and interventions in behavioral change are indicated. ODC should revert to theoretically informed practice versus the increasing reliance on A-theoretical tools and techniques.

Over the last decade, multiple initiatives have been undertaken to learn how to capture the carbon footprint of a supply chain at a product level. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the process of standardization to secure consistency of product carbon footprinting (PCF) and to outline how the current developments in PCF support the need for a standardized method to measure and report environmental performance in supply chains.

This paper is based on a literature review and a review of international standards for PCF which brings knowledge of PCF to the existing literature of green supply chain management.

The multiple initiatives for standardization each improve the understanding of standardized methods of conducting PCF. At the same time, however, important differences exist between the standards in terms of the modelling framework to be used when conducting a PCF, and a paradox exists concerning methods for securing future standardization of PCF.

Standards for evaluating emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in supply chains are evaluated without consideration of other environmental impacts. In addition, the research only compares international standards, thereby excluding national initiatives.

Standardization efforts can be expected to shape the future practice of measuring emission of GHGs in companies and supply chains which provides a framework for reducing impacts.

Papers that outline the standardization process for PCF have been examined, but this paper adds value by categorizing the field, outlining the latest standards, and by being the first paper to compare standards for PCF on selected criteria and identify gaps.

The purpose of this study is to systematically review the state-of-art literature on the net-zero economy in the field of supply chain management.

A systematic literature review of 79 articles published from 2009 to 2021 has been conducted to minimise the researchers' bias and maximise the reliability and replicability of the study.

The thematic analysis reveals that studies in the field of net-zero economy have mostly been done on decarbonisation in the supply chain, emission control and life cycle analysis and environmental and energy management. The findings highlight the strong positive association between digitalisation, circular economy and resources optimization practices with net-zero economy goals. The study also addresses the challenges linked with the net-zero economy at the firm and country levels.

Practitioners in companies and academics might find this review valuable as this study reviews, classifies and analyses the studies, outlines the evolution of literature and offers directions for future studies using the theory, methodology and context (TMC) framework.

This is the first study that uses a structured approach to analyse studies done in the net-zero field by assessing publications from 2009 to 2021.

The purpose of this study is to explore factors influencing customers’ purchasing behavior toward home-based small and medium enterprise (SME) products. Moreover, this study explores customer perception of home-based SME products and services, as assesses their satisfaction with the parking area layouts and delivery service systems of home-based SMEs.

Relevant variables were drawn from the literature review. A well-structured, internet-based customer questionnaire was developed for this empirical study and sent to a targeted sample of 117 respondents. The statistical methodologies such as ranking scale analysis, analysis of variance and Pearson’s correlation were used to assess the gathered data using SPSS software.

The main findings revealed that 83% of the customers perceived the quality of home-based SME products and services as “at least good,” and that convenience was ranked as 21.1% with the most crucial factor for customers, which includes easy access, effective delivery and quicker processes. Moreover, the study reveals that approximately 50.4% of customers rated the parking area layouts as “at least good,” while 33.9% considered it dissatisfactory. The evidence from the correlation analysis indicates that consumers’ purchasing behavior correlates significantly with accessibility, ease of finding online shopping sites and availability of parking areas at a 95% significance level.

The research findings will bring insights to SME owners and entrepreneurs to infer and fulfill customer expectations and achieve brand loyalty. However, research limitations include the relatively small sample size, as well as the study, focuses on home-based SMEs’ consumer behavior which cannot be generalized to other firm types.

This study provides useful information on the factors and issues influencing the purchasing behavior of customers toward home-based SME products in the UAE. Understanding of SMEs owners of customer experience would facilitate planning adequate strategies addressing customers’ needs, behaviors, expectations and future opportunities. Also, logistic and delivery companies can further support SME’s growth by providing an efficient delivery experience taking into consideration the quality of product condition and duration of the delivery cycle.

Home-based SMEs are emerging as intrinsic to the economic diversification process, especially in fast-growing and ambitious countries such as the UAE. The research objectives have drawn a better understanding of consumers’ preferences, perceptions and purchasing behavior which would better facilitate the growth and sustainability of home-based SMEs based on the UAE context.

The present study aimed to explore the applicability of theory of planned behavior in construction of eco-friendly houses.

Study utilized cross-sectional correlational research design, collected data from 269 adult house owners of Kerala, India, with the help of a self-report measures namely, attitude towards eco-friendly house construction, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intention to build eco-friendly houses, check list of eco-friendly house and socio-demographic data sheet. Descriptive statistics, Karl Pearson product moment correlation, confirmatory factor analysis and mediation analysis with the help of AMOS were used to describe the distribution of study variables and to test the research hypotheses and proposed model.

Study revealed that behavioral intention to build eco-friendly house was the immediate and strongest predictor of actual behavior of constructing an eco-friendly house. Behavioral intention mediated the relationship of attitudinal variables, normative variables and control variables with the behavior of constructing eco-friendly houses.

The results vouched the applicability of theory of planned behavior as a comprehensive model in explaining the behavior of eco-friendly house construction.

Results of the study iterates the utility of attitudinal, normative and control factors in enhancing the choice of constructing eco-friendly houses. The results can be applied to develop a marketing tool to enhance the behavior of choosing or constructing eco-friendly houses in the population.

Role of conventional concrete construction in climate crisis is unquestioned, and adopting eco-friendly architecture is a potential solution to the impending doom of climate crisis. Behavioral changes play a significant role in the success of global actions to curb the climate crisis. Present study discusses the role of psychological variables in constructing eco-friendly houses.

The Labelling of Food Order, 1944, which has been made by the Minister of Food under Regulation 2 of the Defence (Sale of Food) Regulations, 1943, implements the policy set out in the White Paper on the Labelling and Advertising of Foods (Cmd. 6482). The Order details the general requirements which must be met by the labels of all pre‐packed foods, and also the special rules which will apply to both labels and advertisements claiming the presence of vitamins or minerals in any food. In order to give time for amendment of labels, the Order does not come into force until January 1st, 1945. The principal requirement is that the labels of pre‐packed foods sold by retail must show: (1) the name and address in the United Kingdom of the packer or labeller, or of the person on whose behalf the food is packed or labelled. Alternatively, the label may bear a registered trade mark. The labels of imported pre‐packed foods may specify instead the name and address of the importer; (2) the common or usual name (if any) of the food; (3) in the case of foods containing more than one ingredient, the common or usual names of the ingredients of the food in the order of the proportions in which they were used; (4) the minimum quantity of food in the package. A number of foods, however, are exempted from these requirements. In particular, the ingredients need not be disclosed in the case of certain foods if their composition complies with the requirement of Orders made by the Minister of Food prescribing standards made under Regulation 2 of the Defence (Sale of Food) Regulations, 1943, e.g., mustard, self‐raising flour, shredded suct, baking powder and golden raising powder. The manufacturer or the packer will normally be the person who labels the food with the above information, but provision is made to allow traders dealing in food otherwise than by retail to sell the food unlabelled. In this case they must furnish the purchaser with a statement enabling him to label the food in accordance with the Order. For the purpose of this provision, the application of a code mark to a container does not constitute labelling. Special requirements in addition to those mentioned above apply to labels and advertisements when claims are made to the presence of vitamins or minerals in a food. General claims are only permitted when specified vitamins or minerals are present, and the proportion has to be stated in the manner prescribed. Claims relating to the presence of a particular vitamin or mineral specified must also be supported by a quantitative disclosure. Provision is made so that a prosecution for weights and measures offences shall not be based on the contents of only a single sample, while bona fide mistake, accident and loss due to evaporation are defences to such an action. It is a defence to proceedings under the Order to show that the food was sold bearing the same label as when received by the seller, or alternatively that it was labelled in accordance with the statement supplied to the seller when he purchased it. In accordance with the provisions of the Defence (Sale of Food) Regulations, 1943, proceedings under the Order by Food and Drugs Authorities other than in respect of weights and measures offences may only be instituted with the Minister's prior consent. Correspondence with reference to the Order should be addressed to the Ministry of Food, Mussoorie, Kenelm Road, Colwyn Bay.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Spanish consumer preferences for several food-labelling schemes on semi-cured, pasteurised sheep milk cheese. In particular, the authors used three labels regulated by the European Union regulation (European organic logo, protected denomination of origin (PDO) and nutritional fat content), and the remaining four have been introduced to the European food market by private initiatives (local, carbon footprint, food miles and animal welfare).

A Best-Worst Discrete Choice approach was applied in Spain during Fall 2011 by administrating a survey to 549 consumers.

The results suggest that the most valued labels are the PDO, followed by the organic logo and the nutritional panel. The least valued are food-miles labelling and carbon foodprint labels, while local-origin labels and animal welfare are in the middle position.

This study is the first to value consumer preferences for cheese products bearing several public and private European food-labelling schemes since literature on consumer preferences for food labels has only dealt with a comparison of a few (two or at most three) food-labelling schemes. In addition, the added value of this paper is also the use of the BWC approach that has the advantage of providing the best way to discriminate the degree of importance given by respondents to each food labels by overcoming the problem of bias caused by differences in the use of rating scales.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the growing public interest in climate protection and the desire for climate‐friendly consumption which has led to a previously unimagined demand for Carbon Labels on products and various approaches to calculating the carbon footprint of firms or individual products.

A principal problem in calculating the carbon footprint is the input required to genuinely map the emissions from cradle to grave, in other words the product life path as is customary in a life cycle assessment. Small‐ and medium‐sized companies especially encounter major problems in practice when trying to calculate their footprint and take aspects of upstream CO₂ emissions from their suppliers into account as well. The different options regarding how to balance and to include these emissions are compared.

Such analyses are indispensable against the background of decreasing vertical integration in industrialised countries. This is the classic question concerning the boundaries of balancing, but here with far‐reaching consequences, as incorrect selection of the limits will also falsify the results and conclusions.

The paper demonstrates that there are new methods that can be used to determine CO₂ emissions in supply chains from stage to stage recursively and simply pass the data on to the next actor in the chain. A company then only needs to take the data from its direct trading partners into account and can dispense with comprehensive life cycle analyses. This would make CO₂ calculations easier but it requires a discussion about the question for what kind of decisions the different approaches are really helpful.