Two thirds of UK consumers want retailers to remove environmentally damaging products from their shelves, according to independent research released today. Check-out Carbon, published by sustainable development charity Forum for the Future, also reveals that 85 per cent of consumers want to be given information about environmental impacts of products, and 77 per cent want the government to set higher environmental product standards.
Supported by Lloyd’s Register, the report also explores how far carbon labelling can take us towards low-carbon shopping. With labelling of products frequently touted as a way of enabling consumers to shop sustainably, Check-out Carbon calls for a more strategic, prioritised approach – giving consumers options, as well as information.
Forum for the Future interviewed industry experts, conducted focus groups with consumers and commissioned ICM to survey 1000 UK adults. The research found that consumers want to use their shopping power to tackle climate change, but they need clear information on what to buy and how to use products.
A new section focusing on Carbon Labelling is now live at www.businessassurance.com/carbonlabelling. A podcast on the Check-out Carbon report as well as the launch event is available for listening or to download at www.businessassurance.com/carbon-labelling-report-podcast .
The report proposes key steps for government, retailers and manufacturers to achieve a low-carbon shopping basket:
1. Encourage consumers to make the big, non-product choices – such as driving less.
2. Provide advice and support action on the product issues that really matter – such as reducing food waste and using electrical appliances more efficiently.
3. Take sustainability decisions on behalf of customers – remove the high-carbon villains from sale.
4. Ensure carbon messaging fits with other sustainability messaging – don’t confuse consumers.
5. Give advice on how to reduce post-checkout impacts – when product use or disposal impacts are significant.
6. Start with the big feet – prioritise measurement and labelling of products by focusing on those with: high overall footprints; high impacts during consumer use; high variability within a category; and big opportunities for reduction.
7. Be selective about what you communicate – don’t put a label on everything.
8. Ensure you give consumers options not just information – know what your want consumers to do with a label.
Dan Crossley, lead author of the report, said: “Labels showing energy ratings on white goods and cars have shown how labelling can drive behaviour, both in business and amongst consumers. But carbon labelling is only one tool and won’t work on its own. Businesses also need to have substance behind their communications and show that they are working hard to reduce not just the carbon impacts, but the broader sustainability impacts, of their products.”
The research findings were launched at Lloyd’s Register London Headquarters, at an event that attracted some of the UK’s top sustainability and climate change experts, with contributions from Peter Madden, CEO of Forum for the Future, Euan Murray, Carbon Footprinting General Manager of the Carbon Trust, Ian Hodgskinson, MD of Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA), Terence Ilott, Head Environment, Business and Consumers Division, DEFRA, and Katherine Symonds, Sustainability Manager at Tesco..
Speaking at the launch, Katherine Symonds said: “Two thirds of Tesco customers understand what a carbon footprint is, and 8 out of ten say they think about the environmental impact of what they buy. So we’re committed to getting these labels on our products, in a way that’s informative and accessible, combining information with tips on reducing impact and comparisons with other products. As consumer ‘carbon literacy’ increases, we’ll be able to go further.”
Ian Hodgskinson from Lloyd’s Register said, “This report has once again highlighted that carbon labelling information needs to be available, easy to understand and trustworthy in order for consumers to make the right choices. At Lloyd’s Register, we are committed to ensuring the processes which create that information are effective in providing confidence and trust.”