The Carbon Reduction Label program includes a reduce-or-lose-it clause requiring participating companies to lower the labeled item’s carbon footprint every year. Companies market the label in several ways, such as on the physical product, online, within corporate social responsibility reports or with point-of-sale materials, such as in-store marketing campaigns.
Companies have used the process and resulting information to identify opportunities to reduce emissions. For example, smoothie maker Innocent helped one of its suppliers launch a recycling initiative that cut the amount of waste it sent to landfills by more than half.
The labels also help concerned consumers choose the item with the smallest carbon footprint. For example, Canned Diet Coke of Coke Zero carries the smallest carbon footprint compared to the rest of the company’s U.K. product line, especially when the can is recycled. Meanwhile, recycled toilet paper and paper towels from retailer Tesco produces fewer emissions than similar products made with conventional materials, according to a comparison of the carbon labels.
Nearly two-thirds of those in a recent Carbon Trust survey in the U.K. said they'd be more likely to buy products from a company that is actively trying to reduce the items' carbon footprint. Twelve percent believe companies are doing enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon Trust's U.S. research produced similar findings: Only 15 percent believe companies are doing enough to address climate change, Krishnan told ClimateBiz.com Tuesday.
In the U.S., the beverage and outdoor industries are working together to create sector guidance on product carbon footprint methodologies using PAS 2050 as a basis, he said.
"We feel it's a really good way to get an entire industry to move forward versus just one or two companies," Krishnan said.
Product footprint labeling is also taking on a regulatory element in the U.S. In California, AB19 would enact the Carbon Labeling Act of 2009, which would create a voluntary consumer product carbon footprint program that would be managed by the state's Air Resources Board, the agency charged with implementing the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The state already requires all 2009 model year vehicles sold in California to display a "global warming score" rating based on the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the vehicle per mile.
At the federal level, Krishnan said, an amendment in the Waxman-Markey climate change bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week also provides for a voluntary product carbon disclosure program that would be managed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Carbon Trust also offers consulting services to U.K. businesses interested in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The company said Monday it would dole out £100m (US$165.6 million) in zero-interest loans over the next two years to small- and medium-sized businesses that invest in energy efficient equipment.