A carbon emission label or carbon label describes the carbon dioxide emissions created as a by-product of manufacturing, transporting, or disposing of a consumer product. This information is important to consumers wishing to minimise their ecological footprint and contribution to global warming made by their purchases. The world’s first carbon label, the Carbon Reduction Label, shows the carbon footprint embodied in a product and was first introduced in the UK in 2006 by the Carbon Trust.
Just Eat For Business
Just Eat For Business is set to carry out a carbon labelling trial to calculate the carbon emissions of main menu dishes, hoping to raise the awareness of the carbon impact of food. Seeking to encourage its restaurant partners and corporate consumers to make sustainable food choices, Just Eat for Business will be working with 12 independent restaurant partners, including Urban Greens, Atcha, Choppaluna and Hala Wala to carry out the trial.
The trial will take place over three months and will build on the findings of Just Eat’s previous carbon labelling trial. It is being carried out in partnership with My Emissions, a provider of food carbon calculations and labelling. The calculations from My Emissions will be used to display a carbon label that will inform customers and businesses on food related carbon emissions that Just Eat for Business hopes will support them in making “more climate conscious food choices”.
The 12 participating restaurants will display a carbon label rated from A (very low carbon impact) to E (very high carbon impact) by incorporating a traffic light colour system on their Just Eat for Business page. The ratings take into account the farming, production, transport and packaging of the dishes. As an example, based on the products assessed during the carbon labelling trials, a typical beef burger (E-rated) produces four times more emissions than a typical chicken burger (C-rated).
“The insights can help customers to make more informed choices about what they order and restaurants to make informed decisions about the ingredients they use,” said Just Eat for Business. According to the results of a recent survey carried out by the company, 91 percent of respondents said that their business’ values “play an important part in their employee wellbeing”. Meanwhile nearly half of respondents also said that they consider the environmental impact of the food they’re ordering into the office.
Meanwhile, Matthew Isaacs, Co-Founder of My Emissions, explained that the trial offers an opportunity for consumers and restaurants to “learn more about how our carbon labels can impact a variety of customers’ choices and increase awareness of the impact of carbon emissions in the food industry.”
Sodexo
New research from Sodexo shows there is a growing expectation among consumers to see low-carbon options and carbon labelling on menus. As part of its commitment to ensuring 70% of its main dishes will be low carbon by 2030, Sodexo UK & Ireland is working in partnership with Eaternity to calculate the carbon footprint of its dishes and is set to add carbon labels to menus at more than 300 of its UK and Ireland sites by the end of 2024.
To better understand UK consumers’ current familiarity with carbon labelling, and attitudes towards low-carbon meals, Sodexo commissioned consumer research1, which revealed that:
60% of UK respondents said they do not recall ever having seen carbon labelling on food products or menus.
- One in five people (20%) said they actively seek out food products and places to eat that include carbon labelling as this makes it easier for them to manage their carbon footprint. This almost doubled to 39% among those aged 18-24.
- 28% agreed they would pay a higher price, within reason, for a food product or restaurant that was low-carbon or offered low-carbon options. This increased to almost half (47%) of 18-24-year-olds.
- More than a third (36%) said they expect restaurants and food-to-go outlets to offer low-carbon options and provide carbon labelling. While 40% said they expect food products to feature carbon labelling.
Sodexo’s chefs continue to work hard to reformulate recipes and develop new ones to create low carbon dishes and meet its target of 70% of its main dishes to be low carbon by 2030, a key lever in its SBTI-validated net zero targets.
Charles Abraham, Food Director at Sodexo UK & Ireland said: “We are committed to helping our consumers make informed and sustainable meal choices, without compromising on taste or affordability. Our chefs relish the opportunity to use the Eaternity data to rework our traditional favourite dishes as well as adding new, exciting low-carbon options that everyone will enjoy.”
According to WWF, global food systems account for around 30% of all greenhouse gases emitted around the world. The organisation also stated that bringing the current UK diet down to 3.12kg CO2e per person per day would deliver over half of the food emissions reductions needed by 20302. A universally recognised definition for a low-carbon meal doesn’t currently exist, so Sodexo has conducted a review of existing research and with guidance from its technical partner, WWF, has set its own definition as one for which the production generates 0.9 kgCO2e or less.
Sodexo estimates that by 2030, its carbon savings in food services will be 100,800 tCO2e, which is the equivalent of flying around the world 8,579 times, representing a 38.24% reduction compared to its baseline figure published in 2017.
Sodexo UK and Ireland commenced its net zero journey in 2010, calculating its scope 1 and 2 emissions, in partnership with WWF. In January this year, Sodexo reported that it has achieved a 37% reduction in absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across scopes 1, 2 and 3, compared to its baseline year of 2017 – putting the organisation ahead of schedule on its net zero 2040 roadmap.
Bournemouth University
Bournemouth Uni Food is excited to announce the introduction of carbon labels to their menus, starting with the Fusion Restaurant. This groundbreaking initiative is part of their ongoing commitment to sustainability and aims to equip everyone in the community with the tools to make informed choices about the food they consume. You’ll see labels ranging from A to E alongside items on their menus, each accompanied by a traffic light colour system for easy identification. An ‘A’ rating indicates a low carbon rating, while an ‘E’ indicates a higher carbon intensity.
Partnering with Foodsteps, a UK-based start-up dedicated to providing solutions for measuring and reducing food’s environmental impact, they want to help pioneer a new way to understand the carbon footprint of the food they serve. Utilising Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) data, Foodsteps analyses various stages of food production, from the farm stage up to the retail stage (including any processing, packaging, and transport in-between), to provide comprehensive insights into each ingredient’s environmental impact.
It’s important to note that while carbon footprint scores are a significant aspect of food sustainability, they don’t capture the full picture. Other factors such as land and water use, pollution, fair pay and food security are equally crucial. However, the carbon intensity rating system introduced by Foodsteps offers a standardised way to compare products based on their carbon emissions per kilogram of food produced.
The A-E ratings assigned to each food item are aligned with the global carbon budget set by the EAT-Lancet Commission, aiming to keep our planet within a safe operating space outlined in the Paris Agreement. By providing consumers with this information, they empower individuals to make choices that align with their values and contribute to reducing their overall carbon footprint.
As they start the carbon labelling journey, they acknowledge that behaviour change may take time, and the impact of this type of eco label remains uncertain. They are committed to gathering feedback and insights from all the community to refine and expand this initiative across all their cafes.
ExCeL London
London’s largest exhibition and conference centre is set to add information on the carbon footprint of food to its menus to help drive changes in choices made by visitors, event hosts and menu designers. ExCeL London is working with its long-term catering provider Levy and food sustainability data firm Foodsteps to calculate and communicate emissions data relating to each dish.
Detailed data on the lifecycle footprint of produce and other ingredients will be provided to the venue and to Levy. This information will be used to assist the design of lower-carbon recipes – something which Levy’s parent company, Compass Group UK & Ireland, has been working on for some time as part of its drive to become a net-zero business by 2030.
“Focusing on better data so our chefs and operational teams are informed, empowered, and recognised for the positive impact they can have in every single service, is what we’re trying to achieve together with Foodsteps,” said Levy’s business director and net-zero lead Kevin Watson.
A simplified carbon labelling system will be used to communicate the overall footprint of dishes to visitors and customers. Foodsteps will grade the footprint of each dish using colour coding and a grade from ‘A’, very low carbon, to ‘E’, very high carbon. ExCel London welcomes four million visitors each year. It intends to help them to make more informed decisions on their food choices.
The venue’s sustainability manager Natalie Sykes said: “With food and drink a key element of the event industry, we want to do all we can to better inform our visitors and event organisers, and to reduce our overall emissions wherever we can. Foodsteps will make it easy to do that and complements our other measures which include reducing red meat on menus, and all desserts being dairy-free.”
ExCel London has been certified as carbon neutral under the PAS 2060 accreditation since 2022. It has made changes such as switching to 100% renewable electricity and bringing food waste below 1%, and is now working to further reduce emissions through to 2030 to reduce its reliance on offsetting.
Tenzing
Energy drink Tenzing has welcomed the growing trend of UK sporting events introducing carbon labels for their food and drinks menu. The Six Nations rugby, the FA Cup Final, and British Grand Prix are set to serve carbon-labelled food and drink.
Huib van Bockel, chief executive, said the move that should see carbon labels deployed at events attended by 15 million fans each year. In 2021 and 2022, Tenzing ran a campaign called Knowvember, urging brands to declare their emissions with carbon counts. In 2022 the company conducted research that found British consumers are climate conscious and concerned about the carbon cost of their food and drink.
“If food labelling can lead to a healthier diet, then carbon labelling can lead to a healthier planet. People look at food and drink labels to see how good something is for them – carbon labelling tells them how good a product is for the planet. The food and drink industry contributes to over 25 per cent of emissions and yet we’re still one of the only businesses taking responsibility for our footprint,” said van Bockel.
He urged transparency in the industry: “It boils down to transparency – we believe that carbon labelling should be mandatory across the industry. It will arm consumers with the knowledge they need to make informed choices when shopping, and force companies to disclose the carbon footprint of their food production methods.”
