Carrefour.fr labels all food products with Eco-Score for environmental rating

29 / 06 / 2021

By Marwa Nassar - -

Carrefour.fr is testing the environmental labeling by displaying the Eco-score on all food products sold under national and private labels. Carrefour.fr. started this measure in mid-June.

The Eco-score is a score created by an independent group.

The Eco-score methodology has been designed by a group of independent players in the field of consumer product information (e.g. Yuka, Open Food Facts, Eco2 initiative, etc). It is freely available to the public and has been used by Carrefour without modification.

The score measures the environmental impact of food products by analyzing their life cycle. The methodology is based on the list of 15 indicators in the Agribalyse database established by the ADEME. This list is then completed by a bonus/malus system taking into account other complementary criteria (e.g., organic or not, geographical origin, transport, packaging, etc.). The score rates all food products from A to E for the Carrefour brand and national brands.

This indicator becomes a help for its customers in choosing the categories of products they consume on a daily basis. This awareness-raising approach allows everyone to choose products that have a lesser impact on the environment: products from France, in bulk or with recyclable packaging, labeled products (organic, Label Rouge), products that limit overfishing, deforestation, etc.

For example, a Carrefour wholemeal bread, made from French wheat flour with a single partially recyclable packaging, obtains a score of 88/100 and is classified A. On the other hand, the ham, made from European pork, with 2 packages, gets an E grade.

This experiment will allow Carrefour to analyze customer feedback and their expectations to highlight potential improvements in the calculation methodology. Carrefour hopes that other brands will join this movement by also displaying the Eco-score on their products. In October, we will propose to make public the results of this experiment.