ABSTRACT
When political or administrative policy makers set out to directly influence private sector environmental behaviors via prohibitions, permits, or even “prices”, tensions and conflicts are usually explicit and long lasting. The provision of information appears less confrontational than
traditional regulatory rule or price making, and it seems that public programs that disseminate information about the environmental attributes of products or companies are becoming an increasingly popular tool of government agencies and organizations, with the intent to improve the environmental performance of environmental actors. Sceptics have, on the other hand, been concerned that such programs may not significantly influence the behavior of producers or consumers. For instance, although consumers in opinion surveys often maintain that they will reflect information on environmental or ethical aspects of goods or companies in their purchasing decisions (“green consumption”), there has been little empirical evidence of actual behavior along these lines.
