Are Carbon Labels Worth It?

By Tilde Herrera, ClimateBiz
Published September 23, 2008

CHICAGO, Ill. -- Jacob Madsen likes the tell an anecdote to illustrate the challenges posed by product carbon labels.

He once showed a bag of potato chips to a bartender at the airport while traveling. The bag included a label: 72 grams of carbon, it read. What did the bartender think it meant?

"'I know carbon is not good for me,'" she told Madsen. "'I shouldn't have too much in my body.'"

Madsen, a senior consultant at environmental consulting firm ERM, took part in a panel discussion Monday exploring the ups and downs of carbon labeling at the Corporate Climate Response conference in Chicago. It's an evolving practice with pitfalls and the expense of accurately measuring product carbon footprints across supply chains that can span continents.

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Eco-labels to provide guidance to consumers

SYKE and Prime Minister’s Office

On Friday, 12 September, the Prime Minister’s Office published a report on the use of climate labels on products. The report serves as a background report to the Government foresight report on climate and energy policy. The report assesses the strengths and weaknesses of various labels and proposes a climate label prototype.

Citizens have concerns about climate change and are prepared for climate action. Many consumers consider that the lack of practical guidelines and insufficiency of knowledge preclude them from action. Information may be scattered or lacking. It may also be outdated or poorly understood. According to the report compiled by the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), climate labels can enhance the dissemination of information that helps consumers to choose low-pollution products.

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