Tesco begins 'carbon label' test

by Bill Britt, Marketing 16-Apr-08, 09:15

LONDON - Tesco will launch the first phase of a trial of carbon-labelling on its own-brand products during the next few weeks, the retailer announced during its annual results meeting.

The retailer, in conjunction with the Carbon Trust, has developed a system whereby the average 'carbon count' of a product, along with the category average, will be placed on the packaging so consumers can compare them.

In a webcast, Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy said: 'We've just begun carbon-labelling of products, which I believe ultimately will be very important for consumers, because it will give them the information they need to make choices about products.'

The grocery has been working to develop a universally accepted and commonly understood measure of the carbon footprint of products from manufacture to use. `This will enable us to label all our products so that customers can compare their carbon footprint as easily as they can currently compare prices or nutritional profiles,' the company said.