Government promises energy labelling crackdown

The government has promised to crack down on firms that breach energy labelling rules after new research revealed that the labels on a sizable number of lamps, ovens and washer-driers could be overstating the products' environmental performance.

The study from the Department of Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra) tested 24 of the best-selling washing machines, 24 ovens and 265 different light bulbs. The testing only looked at one product from each model range, so fell short of full legal compliance testing, which requires four samples of washer-driers and ovens, and 20 samples of light bulbs to be tested. However, it revealed that a large number of mandatory energy-efficiency labels could be based on misleading information.

The results revealed that one of the ovens and 16 of the 24 washer-driers, including products from high-profile white goods manufacturers such as Hoover, Whirlpool, Hotpoint and Zanussi, did not perform in accordance with the data on their energy-efficiency label.

Those falling short of the standards declared on the labels included four washer-driers that failed to dry at the required level, meaning that customers would have to use the machines for longer than expected, and a number of products that used more water and energy than stated.

In addition, some of the light bulbs tested failed to include any energy labels, despite such labels being mandatory under EU law, while a quarter of Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs), 43 per cent of old-style incandescent bulbs and 31 per cent of the tungsten halogen bulbs failed to perform in line with all the declarations made on the products' labels. Moreover, eight per cent of CFL bulbs carrying an A-grade energy-efficiency label tested as a B-grade product.

A spokesman for Defra told BusinessGreen.com that the companies that failed to carry energy labels had been contacted and told to display the labels from now on, while the results of the tests had been passed on to the National Measurement Office (NMO), which is tasked with enforcing energy- labelling rules. The agency is now expected to carry out formal tests on the products highlighted by the Defra research as potentially breaching labelling rules.

"When people buy a new household appliance, they need to be confident that if it says it is energy efficient, it will live up to those standards," said Environment Minister Dan Norris. "Defra is pushing Europe to revise and extend the A-G energy-efficiency labelling system for more products to greater promote high-efficiency products and help consumers choose the best products on the market. This research highlights the need for these standards to be fully enforced."

According to the spokesman for Defra, the recently-appointed NMO is expected to lead a crackdown on firms found to be in breach of labelling rules. " Responsibility for energy labelling used to lie with Trading Standards, but they have lots of responsibilities and this was not their top priority," he said. " From now on the enforcement of labelling rules will be a lot tougher."

Under the EU energy-labelling directive, the government has the power to impose unlimited fines on firms that overstate the energy performance of their products – a course of action Defra said it was willing to pursue for repeat offenders.

The spokesman also said that the government would consult on new penalties for firms that breach energy-labelling rules early next year. "Currently we can impose fines, but if a customer has bought a product that did not perform in line with the label they have no legal right to take the product back," he said, adding that the government would look into extending consumer rights to cover misleading energy labels.