BILL ANALYSIS
AB 19
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 19
AUTHOR: Ruskin
AMENDED: May 4, 2009
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: July 6, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Randy Pestor
SUBJECT : CONSUMER PRODUCT LABELING
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
(CGWSA), requires the California Air Resources Board (ARB)
to determine the 1990 statewide greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions level and approve a statewide GHG emissions limit
that is equivalent to that level, to be achieved by 2020,
and sets various requirements to meet this requirement.
(Health and Safety Code 38500 et seq.).
2) Under the California Integrated Waste Management Act of
1989, contains recycled-content requirements for certain
products.
3) Sets various requirements in the Public Contract Code for
purchasing recycled products, and includes environmentally
preferable purchasing requirements.
This bill enacts the Carbon Labeling Act of 2009 that:
1) Requires the ARB to implement a program for the voluntary
assessment verification, and labeling for the carbon
footprint (CF) of consumer products sold in the state. ARB
must adopt protocols for assessing, verifying, and labeling
the CF.
2) Requires ARB to only develop a protocol if it determines
that it is feasible and practical to do so, and must use
certain criteria (total life cycle GHG emissions of a
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consumer product or consumer product category, emission
impact of a category, size or growth of the consumer
product market) in determining protocols to develop.
3) Requires the program to: a) allow a consumer product
manufacturer or distributor, on a voluntary basis, to
determine the product CF by applying the ARB protocol and
to include that information in certain methods developed by
the ARB, and b) develop a standardized, easily
understandable label that communicates relevant product CF
information to the consumer.
4) Requires ARB to use data from outside sources to develop
protocols, including existing models and labeling
standards. To minimize manufacturer and distributor costs,
ARB must consider aligning protocols with other carbon
labeling standards.
5) Defines certain terms (e.g., carbon footprint, life cycle).
6) Contains related legislative intent.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, "This bill
provides a business- and consumer-friendly approach to
helping reach California's AB 32 requirements, by providing
voluntary carbon labeling for consumer products . . . An
effective way to achieve social or environmental change is
through consumer choice. Consumer behavior often helps
change business behavior faster and more efficiently than
government regulation or legislation."
The author notes that "To be effective, labels must be
credible. This bill requires [ARB] to develop a carbon
label, when [ARB] determines this is feasible. By
requiring a state agency to do this work, consumers can
have confidence that the claims manufacturers make about
their products are accurate. This is important as more and
more carbon labels are used in the marketplace."
According to the author, "The bill is written so that [ARB]
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has maximum flexibility to develop and implement a valuable
program without excessively burdening the Board. For
example: there's no date by which a label(s) must be
completed; no specific product or product category [ARB]
should start analyzing; no specific number of products
[ARB] should start with; no specified measuring methodology
[ARB] should use to determine carbon content; and, while
the bill contains a definition for carbon footprint, the
bill allows [ARB] to vary the boundaries of that term as it
relates to each product or product category."
2) Addressing climate change . Climate change refers to
long-term changes in temperature, precipitation, wind
patterns and other parts of earth's climate system. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines
climate change as "any change in climate over time, whether
due to natural variability or as a result of human
activity." For some time, scientific research increasingly
attributes these climate changes to GHGs, especially those
generated from use of fossil fuels. Scientists indicate
that the earth is warming faster than any time in the
previous 1,000 years, and the 10 warmest years of the last
century occurred in the last 15 years. A rise in
temperature accompanied by climate change affects how
organisms live, adapt, and survive.
AB 4420 (Sher) Chapter 1506, Statutes of 1988, required the
State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission (CEC), in consultation with certain entities, to
conduct a study and report to the Legislature and the
Governor by June 1, 1990, on how climate change may affect
the state's energy supply and demand, economy, environment,
agriculture, and water supplies. The study also required
recommendations for avoiding, reducing, and addressing
related impacts - and required the CEC to coordinate the
study and any research with federal, state, academic, and
industry research projects.
AB 4420 led to two reports: "The Impacts of Global Warming on
California" (1989) and "Climate Change Potential Impacts
and Policy Recommendations" (1991). According to the
state's Climate Action Team, "The political discussion
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generated from these reports helped pave the way for
implementation of policies to address climate change."
SB 1771 (Sher) Chapter 1018, Statutes of 2000, required the
Secretary of the Resources Agency to establish the
California Climate Change Registry. SB 1771 also required
the CEC, in consultation with certain entities, to update
the GHG emissions inventory and to develop data and
information on climate change - and to provide certain
entities and interest groups with information on the costs,
technical feasibility, and demonstrated effectiveness of
methods for reducing or mitigating production of GHGs from
in-state sources. SB 1771 required the inventory to be
updated every five years. SB 527 (Sher) Chapter 769,
Statutes of 2001, revised certain California Climate Change
Registry responsibilities.
Governor Schwarzenegger issued Executive Order (EO) S-3-05
June 1, 2005, to establish emission reduction targets for
the state, require the Secretary for Environmental
Protection to coordinate oversight efforts with certain
other entities to meet the targets, and set various
reporting requirements.
AB 32 (Nunez/Pavley) Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006, requires
the ARB to determine the 1990 statewide greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions level and approve a statewide GHG emissions
limit that is equivalent to that level, to be achieved by
2020 - and sets related requirements.
In implementing AB 32, ARB adopted the first list of early
action measures June 21, 2007, and adopted an augmented
list of early action measures October 25, 2007. Mandatory
reporting regulations for GHGs were adopted and the 2020
GHG emissions target were set December 6, 2007. The
Scoping Plan was adopted December 12, 2008, and ARB
rulemaking continues in 2009 and 2010. First early action
measures take effect January 1, 2010, major GHG reduction
rulemaking concludes January 1, 2011, with rules taking
effect January 1, 2012.
3) Current labeling programs and determining carbon emissions .
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Labeling programs at the national level include the
organic food certification program and the energy star
label. Both of these programs include specific standards
that must be met. The Green Seal program in the U.S. is an
independent, non-profit organization that identifies
products meeting certain specified criteria.
EPEAT is a nonprofit organization overseen by a board of
advisors. EPEAT is a "system in which manufacturers
declare their products' conformance to a comprehensive set
of environmental criteria in 8 environmental performance
categories." These categories include
reduction/elimination of environmentally sensitive
materials, materials selection, design for end of life,
product longevity/life cycle extension, energy conservation
(including energy star), end of life management, corporate
performance, and packaging.
Carbonfund.org provides ways for determining lifecycle carbon
emissions. Also, coolcalifornia.org, developed by ARB and
other entities, includes a carbon footprint calculator that
"can be used to evaluate both direct and indirect emissions
of [GHGs] from a variety of sources . . . and which goods
and services we choose."
Countries with programs relating to eco-labeling include
Germany (Blue Angel), Canada (Environmental Choice
Program), and the European Union Eco-Label. The United
Kingdom, through an entity called Carbon Trust released a
standard in 2007 for the voluntary assessment of GHG
emissions for goods and services.
ARB has awarded a research grant to develop a model for
estimating lifecycle GHG emissions of certain products, and
to research related matters. The ARB-sponsored research is
expected to be completed in mid-2010.
H.R. 2454 was recently amended to require the Environmental
Protection Agency Administrator to "conduct a study to
determine the feasibility of a establishing a national
program for measuring, reporting, publicly disclosing, and
labeling products or materials sold in the United States
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for their carbon content . . . " and transmit a report to
Congress within 18 months on certain related matters (e.g.,
a determination whether a national carbon disclosure and
labeling program would be effective in achieving intended
goals in GHG reductions; criteria for identify and
prioritizing sectors, products, and processes to be covered
under a program; suggested methodology and protocols for
measuring carbon content for use in a carbon disclosure and
labeling program; recommendation of certification and
verification options; analysis of costs and timelines for
establishing a carbon disclosure program). The
Administrator must establish a national product carbon
disclosure program with voluntary participation no more
than 36 months after enactment of the measure. Another
report to Congress is required no later than 5 years after
the program is established regarding the effectiveness of
the program, level of voluntary participation, and any
recommendations for additional measures. The measure
authorizations appropriation of $5 million for the initial
study and $25 million for each of fiscal years 2010 to 2025
for the program.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is
also developing guiding principles for the development and
use of environmental labels and declarations.
4) Establishing a state carbon label program . AB 19 sets
procedures for a carbon labeling program in California with
various ARB responsibilities. ARB must develop a protocol
after determining that it is feasible and practical to do
so. The program must allow a consumer product manufacturer
or distributor on a voluntary basis to determine the carbon
footprint of the product by applying ARB developed
criteria. The program must also develop a standardized,
easily understandable label communicating relevant
information to consumers about a consumer product's carbon
footprint.
Product manufacturers that label their products in accordance
with these procedures are responsible for ARB review and
validation costs, and the ARB may charge an application fee
to cover costs of establishing the program.
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5) Opposition and support concerns . In referencing ARB's
study of estimating potential GHG emissions of retail
products and the Federal Trade Commission's review of
environmental marketing guidelines, the Grocery
Manufacturers Association "believes that AB 19 is premature
. . . and would either be duplicative of federal guidance
or green claims or could create a whole different set of
standards that would be confusing to marketers and
consumers." According to Procter & Gamble, CF numbers can
have significant uncertainty, CF numbers do not account for
product performance, CFs focus on a single indicator and
ignore other environmental indicators, it is "nearly
impossible to make an 'apples to apples' comparison of
competing products," and resources required to develop a CF
number are incredibly high.
According to Audubon California in supporting AB 19, "Carbon
footprint labels show in carbon dioxide equivalent the
[GHGs] emitted through a product's manufacture,
distribution, and sale. Displaying information about a
product's [GHG] emissions raises consumers' climate change
awareness, promotes energy conservation and encourages
companies and consumers to reduce the [GHG] emissions
associated with products they manufacture and purchase. AB
19 would allow California consumers to reward manufacturers
that lower their carbon footprints. With a carbon label -
essentially, a nutrition label for the environment -
consumers would be armed with information that can make a
difference for California, not through regulation or
taxation, but through the power of consumer choice."
6) Issues to consider . Given ARB research on this issue, and
the potential for federal research and a federal program,
it may be appropriate for either: a) the Legislature to
consider legislation for a carbon label program in 2010
when information is available from the ARB study, or b)
include a delayed operative date with provisions for a
federal program to supersede a state program, if a federal
program is developed.
SOURCE : Carbon Label California
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SUPPORT : American Federation of State,; County and
Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO; American Lung
Association; Audubon California, Breathe
California; California Association of
Professional Scientists; California League of
Conservation Voters; Carboncounted.com, East
Bay Municipal Utility District; Environment
California; Hero Arts, Inc.; National Parks
Conservation Association; New Voice of
Business; Open Hand Manufacturing, Inc.; Santa
Clara Valley Water District; Sierra Club
California; Xtracycle
OPPOSITION : California Cattleman's Association, California
Chamber of Commerce, California Manufacturers &
Technology Association, Consumer Electronics
Association, Consumer Specialty Products
Association, Grocery Manufacturers Association,
Industrial Environmental Association, Proctor &
Gamble Company, Santa Barbara Technology &
Industry Association, TechAmerica, Wine
Institute