# Drivers, Barriers and Benefits of the EU Ecolabel in European Companies' Perception
## 2 EU Ecolabel Drivers, Benefits and Barriers: A Literature Review
### Benefits  
As seen, companies elect to use Ecolabels driven by the fact that they see an opportunity to add value to existing products, expand their reach in existing markets, or maintain market share in a competitive environment. Literature does not provide much quantitative or qualitative research on the economic and environmental benefits really achieved by companies that are awarded an Ecolabel. This is due mainly to the lack of agreed research parameters and the breadth of interrelated implications that Ecolabels have for the different stakeholders. Consequently, so far, assessments on the benefits of Ecolabels have been provided mainly by the evaluation studies carried out for both the EU Ecolabel and one of its main (national) \"competitors\", the Nordic Ecolabelling scheme. The portrait delivered by the EVER study (2006) empirical research, for instance, illustrates that the direct benefits actually achieved by companies are related to the improvement of the environmental impact of their activities and, secondly, to their economic or competitive performance. Companies indicated a better environmental performance as the main advantage brought by the EU Ecolabel, along with the recognition as a leader by competitors or other relevant actors. Looking in detail at the environmental effects of the use of the EU Ecolabel, almost half of interviewees indicated that the EU Ecolabel had some effect on the environmental performance of the product in the areas of air and water emissions, waste/recycling and water/material use. Furthermore, it is interesting to report that approximately 42 percent of the EU Ecolabel Licence holders declared that the EU Ecolabel helped them in setting targets for environmental improvements of their products/services for all or most areas, and this was thanks to a better and deeper knowledge of the environmental impact of their products/services. As for the capability of the EU Ecolabel to enhance competitiveness and profits, the results of the EVER study (2006) showed that it can positively, even if \"softly\", contribute to the increase of market shares and sales. In fact, the EU Ecolabel was considered able to produce positive effects on the market, as 53 percent of the interviewed companies experienced an increase in the market share or in the number of new customers thanks to holding products awarded with the EU Ecolabel. However, market reward in terms of turnover was deemed to not be easily measurable, given that only 29 percent of respondents could quantify the impact of the EU Ecolabel on turnover. [PERSON] et al. [9], performing the evaluation of the Nordic Ecolabel, report that several of the interviewed companies explained that they were first movers on the market and gained a competitive advantage for this in the first few. Moreover, the same study found that companies managed to increase consumer/customer interest because the Ecolabel had improved their environmental profile and helped them communicate this to the market. Some companies indicated that being awarded with the Nordic Ecolabel led to increased sales and new customers, while other highlighted that they were able to target new segments of customers that they would not have reached without the label. Interestingly, other interviewed companies reported that the Nordic Ecolabel had not brought an increase in sales as they expected, but they also thought that without the label they would have lost market share. Lastly, companies awarded with the Nordic Ecolabel declared significant gains in terms of resource efficiency (energy, water, waste). This emerged as being particularly true for companies who had held an Ecolabel for their entire service or production facility, such as hotels, or having several products awarded with the Ecolabel.