• Bookstore

The Carbon Reduction Label appearing on Tesco and other partner products allows companies to communicate clearly to their customers the carbon footprint of a product as well as demonstrating a commitment to reduce its carbon impact over a two year period.  

The carbon footprint of the labelled products is measured using the draft Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2050 methodology, a single standard to measure the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a product or service.  This draft standard is being developed by the Carbon Trust and Defra in collaboration with the BSI British Standards.

To date Walkers, Boots, innocent Drinks, Continental Clothing and Halifax have trialled the Carbon Reduction Label while Mey Selections and Morphy Richards have also committed to launching labelled products shortly. The aim of piloting the Carbon Reduction Label is to see how both businesses and consumers would react to the information and to use this market testing to develop the best possible communications mechanism. The label has been tested on pack but also at point of sale, online and in other marketing materials.

Tesco products will carry a new label design featuring a carbon footprint logo, the carbon footprint figure, an endorsement from the Carbon Trust and a written commitment to reduce carbon emissions. This refreshed design is based on extensive research with pilot partners and consumers.  This provides more information for consumers to help them understand the carbon impact of a product and use this to make purchasing decisions and reduce emissions.

Sir Terry Leahy, chief executive of Tesco, commented: 
"We're delighted to be taking this major step with the Carbon Trust. We want to give our customers the power to make informed green choices for their weekly shop, and enlist their help in working towards a revolution in green consumption. We encourage all of our suppliers and competitors to support the Carbon Trust in this collaboration."

Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust, commented: 
"There has been a significant groundswell of interest from consumers in the carbon impact of the products they buy.  And the collective challenge for businesses is to get meaningful information to them at the right time and place so they can begin to make informed low carbon choices.

"Tesco is one of nine partners to commit so far to using the Carbon Trust's Carbon Reduction label and momentum on this important issue is growing week by week.  We hope today's announcement will further catalyse action from other manufacturers and retailers to drive more and more carbon out of their supply chains and products" 

Richard Evans, Chief Executive, Walkers Snack Foods Limited commented: 
"We helped to pioneer the Carbon Trust's Carbon Reduction Label in 2007, and we've seen it raise consumer awareness and galvanise our supply chain to reduce carbon emissions. Tesco's move to label 20 products will help consumers to better understand the environmental impact of everyday products, highlight lower-carbon choices, and encourage action from other companies on carbon reduction." 

Stephen Hale, Director, Green Alliance, commented: 
"Consumers want and need support to take the low-carbon route. Governments and businesses can and must help them. The Carbon Trust's work on carbon labelling is an important part of this. Green Alliance welcomes the step that Tesco and the Carbon Trust are taking, and hope other companies will join the effort to establish a labelling system that consumers understand and trust."

Twenty companies including Tesco have been piloting the PAS 2050 standard which has been used to calculate the carbon footprint figure which appears on the label.

Since the trial of the Carbon Reduction Label launched in March 2007, by Walkers, who have carried the label on pack for the past year, research found that 70 percent of consumers said that the label makes them more aware of the environmental impact of the products and services they choose to buy.  While Boots found that 65 percent of their customers' surveyed said that they would be more likely to buy a product where the label indicated that the company is working to reduce the carbon footprint.