An experimental technique may change the way products in Europe are labeled. A product's true life-cycle energy use and waste are analyzed and scored. An article in today's International Herald Tribune, "Rating a Sicilian red's true cost to the Earth," explains how this was applied to wine growing and production.

Product-oriented analysis offers consumers better information about the environmental impact of the products they buy, and gives companies a better focus on their overall environmental impact, according to Lone Mikkelsen, a spokeswoman for the European Union's Environment Directorate.

Experts are working on standardized methods for obtaining and presenting product-specific energy and waste information. Researchers hope that by creating models for different products, they can improve the environmental performance of small companies.

Mikkelsen believes business owners might consider new kinds of decisions. Fly in cheaper goods from China (with tons of associated carbon emissions), or buy locally at a higher cost? Studies found that small companies often cannot get the environmental data needed for a complete assessment.

The ultimate consideration is whether consumers will be willing to pay more for that choice. The EU started an Ecolabel program in 1992. It allowed companies to label products as "green" if they complied with a set of requirements. Poems-style research started in the 1990s in a small number of progressive European countries.

Nontechnical information in English is still scarce. Google it.