Tesco launches carbon footprint label

Tesco is to become the first supermarket chain in the world to label its own-brand products with a carbon footprint.

20 of Tesco’s own-brand products - including potatoes, light bulbs, detergent and orange juice - are to display carbon footprint labels as part of a two year trial undertaken in co-operation with the Carbon Trust.

The Carbon Trust’s ‘Carbon Reduction Label’ lets consumers compare the carbon impacts of different products, helping them to make informed choices if they want to reduce their carbon footprint.

Walkers Crisps and Innocent Smoothies are already trialling the labels, but their application to a supermarket’s own brand products is a worldwide first.

Environmental activists have praised the scheme, saying that it is a huge step forward in allowing consumers to see the embedded carbon in different products.

The 20 products included in the trial are five detergents, four orange juice drinks, five types of potato, and six different lightbulbs. The carbon label for lightbulbs will include the amount of carbon they emit whilst in use.

Booklets available in Tesco stores will provide customers with a full explanation of the scheme.