In 2007 the Carbon Trust started a pilot carbon label, with commitments from Walkers (potato crisps), Boots (shampoo), and Innocent (smoothies). The trial was successfully completed in 2008. The current version of the Carbon Reduction Label shows the total greenhouse gas emissions from every stage of the product’s life cycle, including production, transportation, preparation, use, and disposal. With B2B products (manufactured for use in another product’s manufacture), the carbon footprint measurement stops at the factory gates. The figure, which indicates the amount of CO2 equivalents emitted along the value chain, is printed directly on the product. Recently, an additional version of the label was introduced without gram specifications.
The Carbon Reduction Label is supported by the PAS 2050, a set of standards and guidance developed in partnership with Defra, BSI, and other stakeholders worldwide. By applying its own set of proprietary data and comparability rules, the Carbon Label Company aims to ensure that measurement is comparable across different products within any particular category, enabling manufacturers and consumers to make quick and valid comparisons.
The label includes a reduction element, where companies commit to further reducing the carbon footprint over the following two years. If the commitment is not met, the company can no longer use the label.
The Carbon Trust Certification Company offers a service of 3rd Party certification on PCF, verifying compliance with the PAS 2050 and the Carbon Trust Code of Good Practice.
To facilitate the implementation of PCF the Footprint Expert™ was developed. This toolkit provides calculators, reference data, and a registry of PCFs certified by the Carbon Trust.
A wide range of products have already been labeled – from paving products (e.g. Marschalls) to clothing (Continental Clothing) to food (e.g. Tesco). Carbon Trust activities are not limited to the UK. Pilot projects are running in China, a program has been rolled out in Australia, and certification is live for products from the United States.
May 2011