The environmental labeling of food is increasingly being seen as a way to tackle both climate change and biodiversity loss. By displaying environmental labels on food products brands can help consumers shift towards a more-sustainable diet and encourage brands and their value chains to create more environmentally friendly products.

A recent survey on sustainability, undertaken by ECR Community, found sustainable/environmental labeling & categories to be in the top 3 sustainability topics that members wanted to learn more about.

The Institut du Commerce (ECR France) is very active on Environmental Scoring & Labeling and has been part of a national French working group on the topic. The group includes other organisations such as the ADEME (French Environment and Energy Control Agency), the Consumer Goods Forum, and other private sector actors.  In partnership with the Consumer Goods Forum, it has put together a really useful FAQ on environmental scoring for food in France (published June 2022). This should be of benefit to other ECR Nationals who are looking to establish working groups or provide more information to their members on this topic.

The Institut du Commerce is continuing to work with the Consumer Goods Forum ‘Collaboration for Healthier Lives’ French initiative to establish a common knowledge base on the topic, support the development of a single approach, and to support stakeholders in the value chain (manufacturers, distributors, consumers, hospitality etc.) integrate these changes into their businesses.