Eco-labelling: a new regulatory trend?

When it comes to food, consumers around the world are more concerned than ever about what’s in the products they buy and where they come from. As climate change and the state of the planet come to the forefront for business owners and consumers alike, the environmental impact of what we buy and consume becomes even more important.

Millennial and Gen Z consumers are at the forefront of demanding more transparency from retailers. According to a 2024 UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) survey, 73% of consumers said that buying food with a lower environmental impact is very important to them; consumers do want to have more control over their environmental impact through their consumption.

One way to respond to this demand is through the use of eco-labels.

What are eco-labels?

Eco-labels inform consumers about the environmental impact of producing a product. Global standards already exist for displaying calorie content and nutritional information, with easily identifiable systems such as the UK's traffic light system and Nutri-Score used in several European countries.

Eco-labels can be single-attribute, focusing on one stage of the product life cycle or one environmental issue, or multi-attribute, covering the entire product life cycle from production to disposal.

Global Eco-labeling Trends

Several non-profit organizations and independent bodies around the world have established their own eco-friendly label standards that companies must meet to prove that their products meet specific environmental requirements. Eco-Score, launched in 2023, is hailed as the environmental counterpart of Nutri-Score and is currently being piloted by large European retailers such as Lidl and Colruyt. Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever also support the labeling system launched by Foundation Earth, which aims to provide the best scoring system for the UK and the EU. This year, British supermarket giants such as Sainsbury's, Tesco, Co-op and Morrisons announced that they would pilot digital environmental labels to drive the industry towards greater transparency.

What if eco-labelling became an industry requirement?

There is currently no unified rating and methodology for determining the environmental impact of products, and around 460 eco-labels are in use worldwide, of which more than 120 are specifically for food and beverage products. A consistent system is needed to reduce the spread of greenwashing and misinformation.

While it may sound simple for large companies to create their own certification systems, this has led to problems with greenwashing and litigation. In 2021, more than 300 class-action lawsuits were filed in the United States against the food and beverage industry, many involving misleading environmental and sustainability claims. A recent example of greenwashing was in 2021 when Red Lobster, the world's largest seafood restaurant chain, was criticized for allegedly issuing false environmental claims that misled consumers into believing its food was environmentally friendly.

Do you need help with eco-labelling?

If eco-labeling becomes an industry requirement in your market, you will face multiple regulatory hurdles, which may vary from market to market. Companies that fail to meet all regulatory requirements face severe fines. Arrow Translation can serve as a single point of contact to help you navigate the regulatory landscape and ensure that all markets are covered.

Arrow Translation supports companies in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and retail industries with comprehensive packaging and labeling services, including ingredient content management, compliance consulting, translation into more than 200 languages, artwork implementation and review, and integration with commercial art systems, including Veeva Artworks. Please feel free to contact us to learn more about how we can help.

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