Institutional design of ecolabels: Sponsorship signals rule strength

Ecolabels are designed to help consumers identify environmentally superior products and services; however, they are not all created equal. Some ecolabels have strong rules that promote environmental improvements, while others have weaker rules that permit free‐riding. Because information about ecolabel design and rule strength is typically not readily available at the point of purchase, consumers struggle to differentiate stronger ecolabels from weaker ones. We investigate whether ecolabel sponsorship is a signal that can help consumers distinguish between ecolabels according to the quality of their institutional design. Using data of 189 prominent ecolabels, we find that while most ecolabels have basic rules for environmental performance, monitoring, and conformance, the strength of these rules varies across labels according to sponsoring organization. Independent sponsors have the strongest ecolabel rules, followed by governments. Industry sponsored ecolabels have the weakest rule structures. Taken as a whole, these findings suggest that sponsorship may provide important information about whether an ecolabel is designed with rules that effectively condition firms to promote meaningful environmental improvements.     

Understanding the ABC of University Governance

University governance is complex and contested. In view of the seemingly unceasing rise of commercial values within public universities, this contribution argues the case for a holistic, mission‐related integrated governance approach for the Australian public university sector. The ‘ABC of University Governance’, as proposed for broad‐scope governance within the sector, involves an integrated emphasis on the three key components of governance: academic governance, business governance and corporate governance. Respectively, these components of public university governance are concerned with scholarship, performance and conformance. Placing academic governance first in the ABC of university governance reminds us all of the vital role and importance of scholarship, which should never be downplayed or underestimated in public universities.