Carbon Reduction Labels

Environmental impact is becoming more significant to all of us, including food businesses. Issues such as the efficient use of water and electricity are no longer simply about saving money but also about reducing our business’s impact on the environment. In some cases these reductions are also legal requirements, for example; the requirement for Water Efficiency Management Plans for water users above a set level in Queensland.

Two years ago in the UK, the Carbon Reduction Label was launched by the Carbon Trust. It appears on more than 2500 individual product lines, and is being used by many internationally recognised companies, including; PepsiCo, Tesco, Coca Cola and Kimberley Clark. It has now been brought to Australia by Planet Ark and the Carbon Trust.

Through the use of an easy to understand label, companies can show customers their commitment to carbon reduction in their process and product. The companies must be able to prove they have measured the carbon footprint a product has at all levels of production and disposal, including the packaging, using a recognised method, and that they are then committed to reducing that impact. They must have proven reductions in that footprint every year to be able to continue use of the Carbon Reduction Label on that product.

Many business are coming to the realization that been as environmentally as possible is also about saving money as well as building reputations, although there may be initial set up costs to consider. The Carbon Reduction Label Scheme is focussed on exactly this realization.

“Many companies outside the UK, especially in the US, are using our methodology to calculate the carbon footprint of their products. But this partnership is different in that it promises to introduce the Carbon Reduction Label to a whole new national market. We believe this is the first step to making carbon reduction labelling the norm for consumer products worldwide,” Tom Delay, Chief Executive of the Carbon Trust, remarked.

Paul Klymenko, Research Director of Planet Ark, believes “The Carbon Reduction Label scheme represents a strategic opportunity for Australian businesses to measure and reduce their products’ carbon footprint and their energy cost. This is an exciting and groundbreaking partnership with the Carbon Trust. They have showcased the significant strategic value of communicating corporate commitments and cuts in product carbon footprints to European and American consumers. Our aim is to achieve the same success here with Australian companies and consumers.”

The first products bearing the label are expected to hit Australian supermarket shelves in 2010.
For more information - www.carbonreductionlabel.com.au