Understanding everything about environmental labeling

July 1, 2024

Introduction

Sustainability and transparency are now key criteria for consumers when making purchases. In response to this need, environmental labeling is being deployed on product packaging and is becoming more and more widespread.

Between the different calculation methodologies studied and research into reducing the environmental impact of food product , it is difficult to navigate. Maltivor informs you about developments in environmental labeling and supports you in reducing the impact of your products for a more virtuous agri-food industry!

Environmental Display: an essential tool for a green economy and sustainable consumption

Why put in place an environmental display?

Faced with the rise of consumers' environmental concerns, their need for transparency and their desire to better understand what they consume, it is essential that food brands affirm their commitment to the environment. Above all, they seek transparency and seek to better understand what they consume.

This is why the deployment of a single and mandatory environmental display is underway.

The objectives of implementing a single environmental display are:

To inform consumers about the ecological footprint of products.
To encourage sustainable purchasing among consumers and eco-design among producers.
To promote the transition to a greener economy .

History and current situation of environmental labeling

In 2020, France is launching the environmental display project , under the impetus of the AGEC Law and the Climate and Resilience Law, and is beginning experiments on the different methodologies. In 2023, a French decree imposes mandatory environmental labeling for food products from 2025 with a voluntary display phase planned for 2024.

The main devices that were tested are as follows:

There Eco-Score methodology, chosen and tested between 2020 and 2023, was the subject of many controversies. This method based on LCA, and which includes additional environmental impacts, presented certain inadequacies. For example, the rating would be lower on organic products, revealing potential biases in environmental assessment. Therefore, an apple from organic farming and an apple from conventional farming with the use of pesticides would receive a similar rating.

The Planet-Score, already implemented on more than 135,000 products, was mentioned and analyzed, as it is considered a more exhaustive evaluation taking into account additional criteria such as the use of pesticides, water consumption and other consequences on biodiversity.

Today, the decision of France and ADEME is to create a new environmental display appointed Environmental Cost , to complete this approach, a new database, accessible as open-source free of charge, has been created: Ecobalysis . This responds to the desire to have an independent, transparent and objective initiative.

How environmental displays work

In all methodologies, Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a common basis. Companies can determine their LCA using ADEME's Agribalyse , the reference environmental database on agricultural and food products.

The different systems use this common base and add different evaluation criteria and coefficients to obtain a more complete result.

The Eco-Score : LCA data from ADEME and INRIA are used to calculate the Eco-score, combined with a bonus/penalty system based on the information provided on the labels, for a result more complete.
The Planet-Score : It takes the Life Cycle Analysis as a reference and completes this study by integrating different categories of information: upstream, downstream realities and indicators forgotten by LCA.

Regarding the Environmental Cost, here is what makes it up:

16 impact categories from the European Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) framework . For example: depletion of energy resources, depletion of water resources and land use.
And additional “ecosystem services” which reflect important environmental dimensions for the food sector, but which are still poorly taken into account by the PEF today. For example: agroecological infrastructure, agricultural diversity and territorial issues.

Source: The Ecobalyse digital factory

In order to calculate the environmental cost, the Ecobalyse tool was developed, for products distributed in France, based on the ACV Agribalyse database.

The labeling of this standard should be presented in the form of a number and a color to allow consumers to easily understand and compare the environmental impact of food products on supermarket shelves.

What you must remember :

An environmental display, called Environmental Cost, is currently being implemented.

According to the official ADEME calendar, it should be made compulsory from 2025 in France.

What makes up the environmental impact of my product?

Analysis of the environmental impact of agri-food production

In order to improve the environmental impact of products, an in-depth study of the production of your products must be implemented.

It is important to note that 67% of Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHGs) from food in France come from agriculture , while only 6% of GHGs come from processing. Source: “ Time of reckoning for supermarkets”, Climate Action Network .

We must also not neglect the consequences of the agri-food sector on agricultural land and water resources :

70% of freshwater withdrawals in the world are used for food production. Source: “Biodiversity, sick of certain modes of production”, OFB.
70% to 80% of deforestation worldwide comes from agriculture. Source: “Act every day: review your diet”, WWF.
95% of our food comes from the soil , hence the importance of preserving it. Source: “Food: what footprint on our soil?”, ADEME Magazine.

The main way to reduce the ecological footprint of your food products will be to take direct action regarding the selection of your ingredients!

Why voluntarily reduce the environmental impact of your products?

Even if, for the moment, you decide not to put in place an environmental display, the desire to reduce your environmental impact, your ecological commitment and your CSR approach remain important elements in the eyes of consumers.

This also allows you to prepare and anticipate future obligations that will be put in place in France.

Anticipate environmental labeling and reduce your impact with Maltivor!

Spent grain flour, a unique and complete solution

The use of co-products could well be a sustainable solution to have a tangible reduction in environmental impact. Co-products are secondary materials generated simultaneously during the manufacture of the main product. Therefore, these co-products do not use additional resources for their production.

This is how Maltivor brewers' spent grain flour has a lower environmental impact than other flours.

As spent grain is a co-product of breweries, its impact on biodiversity and health is reduced. It does not use water, agricultural land, fertilizers or chemicals and it emits fewer Greenhouse Gas emissions than other flours.

It improves the results of environmental displays of finished products and meets your objectives.

Case study: improving environmental impact with spent grain flour

To enlighten you further, we are showing you a concrete example which illustrates the reduction in the environmental impact on the flour itself, then on the bread.*

First, we made a comparison between the impact of 1 ton of wheat flour and 1 ton of spent grain flour. By replacing a ton, we can achieve these savings:

290 kg of C02eq = 1 round trip Lyon-Lille by car.
330 m3 of water = 2,200 bathtubs.
1,400 m2 of agricultural land = 7 tennis courts.

Thus, on a quantity of 20 tonnes of bread containing 10% spent grain flour in the recipe, here are the savings made:


940 kg of C02eq = 4 return journeys from Paris to Bordeaux by car	650 m3 of water = 4,300 bathtubs	2,400 m² of arable land = 12 tennis courts

* The data announced comes from an internal study on a given product and may vary.

Maltivor, a partner for environmental assessment

The Maltivor team can help you in your projects to improve your recipes and reduce the environmental impact of your products.

Thanks to the development of a internal tool , we can estimate the environmental impact of your food product and offer our help in your quest for sustainability.

This internal process allows us to show you the results obtained by adding spent grain flour to your recipe, according to different incorporation percentages, so that you can see its environmental benefits in a concrete way.

Following this internal study, we can also help you build your communication elements . For example, how to promote the reduction of your environmental impact or how to highlight your use of co-products on your product packaging.