Each year, on June 5th, World Environment Day is celebrated, being the most important day dedicated to the environment globally.
This year’s theme for World Environment Day focuses on land restoration, combating desertification, and increasing drought resilience, under the slogan “Our Earth. Our Future. We are #GenerationRestoration”. The issue of combating desertification gains even greater importance this year as 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.
On World Environment Day, InfoCons offers consumers the Free European InfoCons App. Through this app, consumers can scan QR codes on energy efficiency labels to find out where they can recycle electronic and household appliances.
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The European InfoCons App facilitates the recycling process of electronic and household appliances by providing consumers with the following information:
- A complete list of recycling collection points, indicating the nearest center to the user’s location;
- Updated information about each collection point, including essential details about the types of recyclable materials accepted at each location.
Recycling through the European InfoCons App is an important gesture for protecting the environment. By reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills, it helps conserve natural resources and reduces the negative impact on the environment.
Additionally, the European InfoCons App supports consumers when purchasing electronic and household products by offering a calculator for estimating their usage costs. Thus, consumers can estimate the energy consumption costs for each scanned product.
Besides the ability to estimate energy consumption costs and compare similar products, the European InfoCons App provides the following information directly on mobile phones:
- Energy class;
- Manufacturer;
- Technical characteristics information;
- The ability to file a complaint directly from the app.
The electronic and household products whose energy labels can be scanned include the following categories: washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators, dryers, televisions and computer monitors, and light sources.
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On the occasion of World Environment Day, InfoCons reminds of the “Global Carbon Point” Program, launched at European level. In the context of ongoing development both nationally and internationally regarding carbon footprint issues, and the worsening effects of global climate change, consumers need to be protected, informed, and educated about the carbon footprint of products and services, as well as everything around us (buildings, offices, homes, highways, streets, etc.). To this end, the certification of the carbon footprint of products, services, and everything around us will comply with existing international standards, being calculated using the most precise emission factors.
The European InfoCons App is free and can be downloaded directly from the following stores : App Store, Google Play , and App Gallery.
World Environment Day, celebrated annually on June 5th, was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972. Over the past fifty years, it has become one of the largest global platforms for environmental awareness, with tens of millions of participants engaging online and in-person through various activities, events, and actions worldwide.
According to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, up to 40% of the planet’s surface is degraded, directly affecting half of the world’s population and threatening approximately half of global GDP (44 trillion USD). The frequency and duration of droughts have increased by 29% since 2000. Without urgent action, droughts could affect over three-quarters of the world’s population by 2050.
Land restoration is a crucial component of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), a global initiative aimed at protecting and revitalizing ecosystems, necessary for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
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InfoCons – European Organization for Consumer Protection and Promotion of Programs and Strategies , a full member of the World Organization Consumers International, founding member of the Federation of Consumer Associations, and member of ANEC.