Carbon Footprints and Food Systems
11
television sets, with the first label planned for the spring of 2009. A further 90 product groups are expected to be added over the next three years. Food products are not yet included, and the underpinning method will be based on PAS 2050 (according to Ulf Jaeckel, Federal Ministry for the Environment). Republic of Korea
A carbon label is being developed in the Republic of Korea at the moment and will be finalized in the near future. On April 15, 2009, a carbon label was certified for 23 products from 12 companies (according to Dr Ik Kim, Korea Eco-Products Institute, Seoul). No details on the methodology used are currently available in English, but an English website is currently under development.
Thailand
Work on the Thai carbon labeling scheme has just started. It will be a three-year process, and the method will be developed in cooperation with the EU. It is anticipated that the method will be very similar to PAS 2050, if not the same (according to Ms Kirana Chomkhamsri, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, European Commission). TÜV Nord, Germany
TÜV Nord, one of Germany’s largest technical service providers, offer an inspection and certification service for “carbon-neutral” products. This service is a version of the WRI/ WBCSD GHG Protocol, modified with regard to the specific characteristics of product certification. As it certifies carbon neutrality, the method includes the calculation of carbon credits and carbon offse ing. This is different from PAS 2050, which excludes any offse ing in order to highlight the actual impact of a product. At the moment, the standard that is available is still a dra ; we do not know when it is expected to be finalized. No definitive rules on where to set system boundaries are expressed in the dra . All Kyoto GHGs with the latest global warming potentials according to UNFCCC are to be included. The sources and data aggregation methods used need to be “reliable, complete and traceable,” and permissible data sources for emission factors, for example, include IPCC, GHG Protocol, UNFCCC, and EU-ETS. At least 95 percent of the total emissions should be included. Where the quantification of certain emissions is considered to be not material, not technically feasible, or not cost effective, the decision might be taken to exclude these emissions; however, the client is expected to provide a proper justification for this exclusion. In the case of details not being covered by the standard, the client is referred to the GHG Protocol and the international relevant ISO standards. Soil & More International, a company based in the Netherlands that runs large-scale composting sites in developing countries to produce high quality compost, carries out emissions reduction projects and contributes to the development of sustainable methods for the management of soils and food crops. They also conduct GHG assessments of companies and products according to the TÜV Nord standards. Their composting technology which