From calories to climate: Are carbon labels for food and drink about to go mainstream?

(edie.net, 26 Jan 2023) Chris Skidmore’s Net-Zero Review recommends standardized ecolabelling for as many products as possible within two years. With leading food and drink brands already showing carbon next to calories, could this sector be the first?

The Review, published earlier this month, sets out more than 120 recommendations for policy recommendations to deliver a more ‘pro-growth, pro-business’ pathway to net-zero by 2050. While many recommendations relate to energy and industrial infrastructure, Skidmore also accounts for the need to better engage and inform the general public, flagged by the Public Accounts Committee.

One engagement-related recommendation is the implementation of standardized environmental labelling on as many product categories as possible by 2025. This includes ecolabels on things like lightbulbs, which the Government is keen on, and on consumer goods including food and drink. Skidmore noted that agriculture’s share of UK emissions is set to grow to 30% by 2030 without intervention, including changes to our diets.

Some British businesses are already ahead of the curve. Broadcaster Sky announced this week that it will roll out carbon labelling at all 29 of its staff restaurants and café’s across all 15 of its UK sites. Collectively, these sites host around 25,000 employees – and it is Sky’s hope that the change will encourage them to choose more sustainable options by clearly signposting what, exactly, these are.