Footprint reports that more than two out of three consumers have chosen a product thanks to a favourable ‘Eco-score’, while 67 per cent have shunned one because of a low rating. Some 15% said the score has helped them reduce their meat consumption. More than nine in 10 want the labels to become mandatory.
The results are from a survey of 6,000 consumers that use supermarkets, restaurants and delivery apps that have begun scoring some, or all, of their products under the ‘Eco-score’ scheme run by the Eco2Initiative, a consultancy.
The Eco-score now accompanies thousands of products in Europe. Carrefour has labelled 25,000 products, while Elior has been testing the labels in seven of its restaurants in France for two months. Trials are also underway in Lidl stores in Scotland.
France, where the initiative began, could soon make eco-labelling mandatory for food products. This could provide the “inspiration” for a mooted EU-wide scheme, according to the European Environmental Bureau, a campaign group. Stefan Goethaert, from the Colruyt Group, a retailer in Belgium, is “convinced” that the scoring system can become “the navigator for the ecological footprint of food products throughout the European Union”.
In the UK, there is also heightened interest in industry-led schemes. Foundation Earth launched a front-of-pack scheme last year, involving the likes of Costa and Nestlé. Compass has been running small trials with researchers in the Livestock, Environment and People labelling (LEAP) group at the University of Oxford, while Benugo has added carbon footprints to all its hot drinks menus.
The Environment Agency is also running a project to develop a common set of environmental metrics that could be used by food companies.
Foodsteps, meanwhile, has created a carbon label for restaurants and hospitality businesses in the UK. The tech startup is also involved in OmniAction – a new initiative that promises to “curate a global, agreed framework on the criteria all food should be assessed against”. The project is designed to address the lack of regulation and accountability in five key metrics, covering environment, labour, land, food safety and nutrition.
