CUTTING THE CARBON COST Eco-labelling is an important consideration for foodservice operators. Tom Hollands, innovation and technical director at Raynor Foods, takes us through the opportunities it presents. What are the challenges with current eco-labelling? Simply put – there is an obvious lack of standardisation. With the multitude of differing standards, it makes it difficult for consumers to compare environmental claims made on labels as they are typically self-referring. Non-standardised carbon labelling degrades the effectiveness of eco-labelling, with companies potentially making false ‘greenwashing’ claims to portray themselves as more sustainable than they truly are. The risk of deceptive marketing practice not only undermines the credibility of eco-labelling but also underscores the pressing need for standardised and transparent frameworks, to enhance the reliability of environmental information conveyed through labels. Furthermore, a standardised approach will allow food producers to not only compete on quality, innovation and service, but critically on emissions. What is the CDA? The Carbon Daily Allowance is a benchmark which
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represents the carbon emissions related to the diet of a UK adult – this is currently 2469g (see graphic on pg 71). The real carbon cost of a product is calculated based on a mix of databases of carbon measurements and the accurate measurement of process-generated CO2e, weighted to achieve a true carbon emission value. By dividing the carbon cost of a food item by the CDA, we can derive what percentage of a person’s daily allowance is used by the item. What we are aiming to provide is an understandable version of this, created by placing the percentage of each item into a scale, based on the relative carbon costs of a basket of real-world lunch option alternatives. We would ideally like to see this comparison system conveyed via a simply understood traffic-light procedure, as used by on-pack formats for fat, sugars and salt. This will give consumers a fact-based, market-relevant measure of the carbon cost of a dietary item, rather than a vague code-letter or number that is unsupported by any real-world comparison.