One of the biggest challenges to the green world is figuring out exactly what green means. There have been dozens of terms thrown out and used in mix-and-match way over the last few decades that have left the general public, and me (who writes about this stuff everyday) a little confused about what we mean when we say “green.” Or sustainable, eco-conscious, eco-friendly, low impact, earth-friendly, organic, environmental, ecologically sound, carbon-neutral, or very Kermit the frog…ggish. You get my point.

There is a push for clarity around the world. While it seems like something that the government would be involved in, in the U.S. the government has largely stayed away from any kind of green labeling or defining standards in the green industries. Energy producers can talk about solar panels and windmills all day and what that means is largely left up to what it conjures up in the minds of those who hear those words. And when I’m buying toilet paper, how am I supposed to know what the real difference between the Seventh Generation and Cottonelle stuff is? Who’s keeping tabs on the green claims that the companies are making? Nobody.

In the U.S. one of the best things we have right now is UL-E, which is Underwriters Laboratories- Environmental department, who is developing green standards and certifications for new products, but it has yet to be widely adopted. But we do need those kind of standards, if only so that we can all talk about the same thing when we think we are talking about the same thing. Right?

Britain’s government, on the other hand, is taking a more active role in certification. Britain’s scheme (And I love how everything there is called a scheme) will certify and label electricity produced by “green” methods so that consumers and businesses know how to select green tariffs that support suppliers going above and beyond what they are required to do to cut carbon emissions. And that’s pretty awesome. Britain’s energy regulator is called OFGEM (Can you guys get a better name? At least something that spells a word? Please?) So OFGEM declared that the green energy suppliers will need to demonstrate to an independent panel that they are doing more than they are required. If they are, they get certified. If not, they don’t. Pretty simple. I’m into it.

"Green tariffs have been a swamp of misleading and confusing claims. We hope that the new guidelines and certification scheme will...begin to give consumers some assurance that by choosing a green tariff they are making a difference," said Keith Allott, head of climate change at WWF-UK.

Love it. And folks at home, WWF-UK stands for World Wildlife Fund, United Kingdom. Dirty minds.

"Only two per cent of Britons currently buy green energy, but I hope that a trustworthy label will convince many more to go green," said Solitaire Townsend, Panel Chair and Leading Sustainable Development Expert.

There’s another one of those terms where I don’t know what it means… Leading Sustainable Development Expert. So, you’re one of the best of the best at working on things that are sustainable? What does that mean? Oh, wait, that’s what your panel is going to figure out. Good to hear. Maybe send an email across the pond here when you figure out what’s working.

Photo Credit: ecstaticist (via Flickr under CCL)