Asking for a friend: What does the climate footprint label mean?

CO₂e is the standard value used to refer to climate impact by the IPCC, Eurostat, and UNFCCC.

What’s weight (kg/pound) got to do with it?

As we measure the impact of gases emitted there are a few parameters to keep in mind: Gas is matter. Matter has mass. Mass is measured in kilograms (kg) or pounds. So, to measure the effect of the gases, we quantify them in weight – kilograms (kg) or pounds. Why do we need to quantify the gases? Imagine a recipe that tells you to use “flour”. How much?! Conversely, imagine the same recipe instructing you to use “500 grams”. Of what?! We need both a unit and a value to make sense of it and in the climate footprint label, CO₂e is the value and kg –or pounds– is the unit of measurement.

What does the number mean?

This is the part where it gets challenging for most. Without a frame of reference, it is impossible to make meaning out of 3.2 kg of CO₂e. However, what one can translate right away is that 3.2 is higher than 0.72 and comparison is a first step towards packing a symbol with meaning. As you explore more climate footprints (or when they are available on every product!) the numbers will quickly start to fall on your frame of reference at the same time that you create it. So you can help out your friend/customer/marketing manager by showing them a few benchmarks within their favorite food category, of the same interchangeable ingredients, or of your food product against a benchmark value.

Here are some examples:

 

On this one, you can rest assured that it goes faster than expected. All of us non-scientists at CarbonCloud attest to it – and so does Rob Malin, founder of the BiB wine, When in Rome:

“0.69 kilograms of CO2e per one kilogram of product”. That completely stuck in my head and I’ve been amazed myself at how quickly I began to benchmark it against other things. I think people will look at climate footprints the same way they look at calories or sugar levels.

Let’s run with Rob’s reference. Mentally travel back to the time when calories were introduced in the nutritional labels. It surely took consumers some friction with the numbers to be able to tell how many calories is a lot or little, which products and food categories are generally calorie-packed and which ones are calorie-light, where do the calories come from (protein, carbs, fat), which products have better energy performance than others – and of course, create their personal frame of how many calories they need to consume daily, based on their lifestyle. This is similar to climate footprint – but if you are eager to see the day after, where climate footprints are on every shelf, take a look at Jeff’s week of grocery shopping with a climate budget.

How much of the product does the number refer to?

Excellent and insightful question from your friend/customer/marketing manager! As with the calories, 300 kcal doesn’t say much – unless it specifies the amount of food that gives you these calories. So what the label shows is calories per 100 gr of product. Climate footprint is absolutely the same! Before we can quantify the climate impact of any product we need to know –and show– how much of this product emits this many kg of CO₂e.

For example, the benchmark climate footprint of a bag of chips is 2.8 kg of CO₂e per kilogram of product. Of course, the bag of chips does not weigh 1 kg so why not use the weight of the bag for purchase? You absolutely could! But keep in mind that when the goal is to compare products, the portion for purchase will most likely be different. To compare a 200 gr bag of chips and a 100 gr bag of popcorn, you would need to go into math mode – and who has the time for that? Moreover, for the same purpose of comparing, you will find this paradigm in pricing: The price tag usually shows the price per portion but also the price per kilo. This enables consumers to compare between products and choose more quantity for their buck.

What do the climate footprint components say in harmony?

Now that you know what all the elements refer to, what the label tells your friend/consumer/marketing manager is the warming effect of all the greenhouse gases emitted to produce, refine, package, and transport one kilo of product on the store shelf. Nakedly and transparently, the label shows the quantified climate impact of a kilo of product you are about to buy. Isn’t that the most straightforward and useful info you can have if you care about climate change?!

Since your friend/consumer/marketing manager can now keep up with the climate footprint label conversation, why not elevate it? Jump into why it’s not about the label and elevate the conversation from what does the label mean? to what does the label do? Enjoy the read!