Using ecolabels as a tool for systemic change [Interview]

“It’s been very exciting working with so many food producers and brands, joining them on their sustainability journey. Our findings are varied, but to tackle the root issue, we need better access to high quality data.

“One of the key challenges when assessing the environmental impact of food products is access to high quality data. This is difficult not only because of the time it takes to effectively map and engage a supply chain, but also because there is a lack of incentive to contribute to data transparency. Foundation Earth is focused on building incentives into the supply chain for increased transparency and more accurate product Life Cycle Assessment.

“Secondly, environmental impact assessments alone won’t cut it; citizens need labels on-pack. Putting labels on pack is the ultimate way to be transparent with consumers. That doesn’t mean putting the onus on them, but providing them with accurate, credible, and trustworthy information so they can make informed decisions. To stimulate changes in consumer behaviour, we must account for every stage of a product’s life cycle, transparently to avoid greenwashing.

“Thirdly, third-party, independent verification provides credibility to consumers. There is a lot of confusing information out there, and people who want to take action often find it hard to do so. How do you assess the environmental impact of a product well? Where is the data coming from and how accurate is it? Who is driving the score? This is why consumers demand that an independent organisation provides the trustworthy information shown on on-pack labelling.”

“We have seen a lot of interest to score food and drink products across the UK and Europe, where a large part of our activity is currently, but are also gaining traction all the way across the globe, with retailers and food manufacturers from North America and Australia reaching out to us for collaboration.”

“One of Foundation Earth’s missions is to drive the pathway towards harmonisation for ecolabelling of food and drinks products. Many scoring schemes are indeed out there, and that means that a lot of intelligence has been created, that we can all leverage to build an optimum scoring system. But avoiding confusion with both consumers and businesses alike will be key, and we believe that a single system is the way to do this. Our drive for a harmonised approach would help set a standardised approach based on key principles that we can all agree on.

“It would be fantastic for the various schemes to come together, openly, and collaboratively to explore how to work more efficiently towards a sustainable food system. Time is of the essence and collaboration is key to finding real solutions.”

“It is indeed important that companies take responsibility for the impacts of their value chains. Ecolabels provide consumers with the transparent information needed to make informed choices, yes, but what they mostly do is incentivise those companies to improve their production in the view of getting a better score.

“On top of that, when scores and labels are attributed after carrying out extensive Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) – which is the environmental impact assessment of a specific product – it generates key data and intelligence that those businesses can use to understand exactly where they might be going wrong – and make the necessary changes.

“Ecolabels are a tool to inform consumers, not put the responsibility on them. But their choices have a ripple effect that can then trigger the systemic change needed to transform the food industry.”