Carbon labels - A green mark too far?

The Carbon Trust’s experiment with carbon labels could transform the behaviour of UK companies and consumers. But there are doubts hanging over the scheme

Labels extolling a product’s ethical virtues are nothing new. Fairtrade goods are now as familiar to shoppers as free-range eggs, while organic food labels reassure consumers that their vegetables have been treated with nothing harsher than compost.

A logo explaining climate change, then, is a logical next step for brands that are cutting their carbon dioxide emissions. The UK Carbon Trust’s Carbon Reduction Label was launched last year with high street retailer Boots, Walkers and Innocent Drinks agreeing to pilot the scheme.

Carbon labels show consumers the “carbon content” of an individual product. An item’s carbon content is the total amount of carbon dioxide emitted from every stage of its production and distribution, from source to store. This is also known as “embedded carbon”, or a carbon footprint. The Carbon Trust scheme stipulates that if an item’s carbon footprint is not cut within two years, brands lose the right to use the carbon reduction label.

But early reactions from pilot companies such as Boots show that carbon labels are yet to impress themselves on customers. A brand could try to use carbon labels to build its green credentials, but consumers fail to understand the information, according to a survey of Boots customers. A till survey found that just 28 per cent of Boots’ customers knew that a product carbon footprint related to climate change. And 44 per cent confused it with fair trade. But the survey showed a majority thought it was important that a figure was given on how much carbon was used during an item’s production. Another problem was that while few products carry the labels, even clued-up consumers cannot compare like with like.