Carbon labels to help shoppers save planet

· Government to develop measurement standards

· Air freight may not always be worst for environment

Tania Branigan and Helen Carter
Thursday May 31, 2007
The Guardian

Shoppers will be able to tell how much damage their purchases do to the environment, under a government plan unveiled yesterday.

Products will display labels showing the greenhouse gas emissions created by their production, transport and eventual disposal, similar to the calorie or salt content figures on food packaging.

Consumers have little way of judging the environmental impact of goods and services, often relying on the miles such products have travelled from their country of origin.

But vegetables grown in Africa and imported by air may have a lower carbon footprint than those grown in heated greenhouses in the UK, said experts developing the scheme.

Ian Pearson, the environment minister, said ministers would work with the Carbon Trust and BSI British Standards to develop a benchmark for measurements over the next 18 months, allowing businesses to calculate the impact of their goods and label them accordingly.

"More and more, businesses are looking for ways to reduce their impact on the environment. To help them achieve that we need a reliable, consistent way to measure these impacts that businesses recognise, trust and understand," said Mr Pearson. "This will be fundamental in our efforts to move Britain towards a low-carbon economy in the decades ahead."

The scheme will be voluntary but major companies including Tesco and Marks & Spencer are working with experts on the project and the Carbon Trust is running a pilot project with Boots, Walkers and the smoothie-makers Innocent.

Walkers cheese and onion crisps now bear a label warning buyers that their carbon footprint is 75g a packet.

"We've already been approached by more than 120 companies from a range of sectors," said Euan Murray, strategy manager at the Carbon Trust.

"Anything you can do to reduce emissions normally means reduced energy consumption, which means you save costs. The newer element is that companies say their consumers are asking what they are doing to reduce their carbon footprint."

He added: "The best way consumers currently understand that products have an impact on the environment is through the distance they have travelled, but just as important are the raw materials, processing in the factory and how they are disposed of.

"Looking at all those stages is really telling and that's where you get real insight and surprises - in some cases bringing in a product from overseas could well be better than producing it in the UK."

Major retail chains have been fighting to establish themselves as green retailers and cut energy costs.

Tesco, the UK's biggest retailer, promised earlier this year to put carbon labels on every one of its 70,000 products. It is also cutting the average energy use of all its buildings and believes it can reach its target by next year.

Marks & Spencer announced earlier this year that it aims to become carbon neutral within five years, and to use offsetting as a last resort.

In March, it introduced labels on some foods which had been imported by air. The label, a small aeroplane symbol with the words "air freighted", appeared on 20 products and will be extended to another 130 by the end of the year.