why brands are adding carbon footprint labels to packaging

Global warming is one of the biggest environmental challenges right now, and food production is responsible for one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Consumers are now more than ever sensible to these matters, and sustainable purchasing is a priority. For this reason, to stop global warming and meet the ambitious climate goals stated in the Paris Agreement, there is an increasing demand for convenient and trustworthy tools to measure the climate impact of goods and food products.

Several companies are showing their consumers a way to see the full footprint of their products on their packaging. Carbon labeling is, in fact, a growing trend and it is becoming part of brand positioning. Companies can pull estimates from databases, though it’s more accurate to measure what’s happening with professional suppliers.

“Today, we are at the stage where companies are proactively choosing to include carbon footprint information, primarily as a way to burnish their green credentials and enhance their brand,” says Euan Murray, chief executive of the Sustainability Consortium. “But as this information becomes more widespread, it’ll help create a race to the top, where companies work hard to reduce the impact of their products year on year. And consumer awareness, literacy, and willingness to act will all grow over time.”

Here at Whatever Brands, we have teamed up with CarbonCloud, a research-based food-tech startup with a disruptive software solution that enables detailed calculations of climate footprints of food products and production processes in a quick and affordable way.

We have started working with CarbonCloud as we are about to launch our new brand Human-Kind plant-based crisps as we were inspired by Oatly.

They were pioneers in using the so-called "attributional" approach to life cycle accounting. This means that all processes used to produce a product are considered, and their combined climate impact is attributed to the product. This contrasts to the "consequential" approach, which is used to assess the climate impact from changing the level of output of a product.

Oatly then added the data on their packaging thanks to the CarbonCloud label, so that everyone can see the results.

There are already on the market smartphone apps, rating websites, and other smart tools that help customers pre-filter, and prioritise their shopping experience based on carbon and sustainability. Meaning that this trend is here to stay and is incentivating consumers to make more sensible purchases.

If you are interested and want to know more, contact us as we are happy to help.