Marks & Spencer and Nestle are among the food businesses backing a new on-pack 'eco-labelling' scheme for groceries, set to be trialed in the UK and EU from this autumn.
The labelling scheme has been launched by new non-profit Foundation Earth – the brainchild of UK meat group Finnebrogue Artisan’s founder Denis Lynn. Lynn died earlier this year in a quadbike accident; his four daughters and Finnebrouge Artisan’s R&D and technical director Declan Ferguson are continuing his mission to “shake-up supply chains and drive innovation”.
The system behind the labels has been developed by researchers at Oxford University and at WWF. It covers the environmental impact of all parts of the upstream value chain for food, including farming, processing, packaging and transportation to stores. An overall grade is given based on carbon footprint, water used, water pollution generated and biodiversity loss. Carbon is weighted at 49% of the overall grade, while the other topics account for 17% each.
Last year, a global survey of 10,000 consumers by The Carbon Trust found that more than two-thirds (68%) support carbon labels. More recently, a survey of more than 2,000 UK adults by digital technology agency 3 Sided Cube found that 68% want to reduce the carbon footprint of their lifestyles, with more than half wanting tech solutions that ‘nudge’ them towards more sustainable options.
https://www.edie.net/news/7/Food-giants-to-trial-traffic-light--eco-labels--this-year/
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