Carbon Footprint Labels for UK Produce

The Government unveiled a scheme yesterday, where produce will carry a label indicating the size of its carbon footprint. It will take into account the production, distribution and even disposal of the packaging after use.

It's not an easy task though, because the footprint of an item in a supermarket is not always obvious. For example, a vegetable grown in Africa and shipped to the UK may have a smaller footprint than the same vegetable grown in the UK, if the greenhouse required heating.

"More and more, businesses are looking for ways to reduce their impact on the environment. To help them achieve that we need a reliable, consistent way to measure these impacts that businesses recognise, trust and understand," said environment minister, Ian Pearson. "This will be fundamental in our efforts to move Britain towards a low-carbon economy in the decades ahead."

Although the scheme is voluntary, Tesco has promised to place the labels on all the goods it sells, which will inevitably place pressure on other companies to do the same. :: The Guardian