Enabling trust in food labels for improved environmental outcomes

A new trend in initiatives to communicate the environmental impact of food products is the development of simplified environmental labelling schemes that aim to communicate aggregated environmental outcomes based on an established measurement methodology. They take the form of an easy-to-understand label displayed on food products at the front-of-pack. Such schemes, despite a lack of harmonisation on what environmental outcomes to measure and a lack of impact assessments, could play a role as part of a wider policy package aimed at influencing consumer choices towards more sustainable food products by enabling more informed food choices and creating incentives for producers to shift to more sustainable practices.