Which carbon label is best?

For companies looking to get their products carbon labelled, three carbon labels are currently up and running. But which are the most credible and what do you get for your money?

If carrying out a carbon product footprinting exercise wasn’t already complex, choosing a label simply adds to the mix. Three countries, including Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom each boast their own version of a carbon label.

Both the UK and US labels require a separate, processed-based life-cycle analysis (LCA) to be carried out, usually in the price range of $10,000-$20,000 depending on the product.

The LCA tallies up the CO₂ emitted during the life cycle of a product, from material extraction, through to the disposal or recycling of the product and is more rigourous (and costly) than the cheaper option of plugging economic data into an input-output model.

All three labels also require independent verification. Thereafter the similarities end, with the style and price of each label varying considerably.


United Kingdom: Carbon Reduction Label (The Carbon Trust)

To gain use of the UK Carbon Trust’s Carbon Reduction Label, companies must register with the Carbon Trust, a UK government-backed consultancy, who can recommend a consultant or directly assist companies to carry out in-house product LCAs. These LCAs can take from 2 weeks to 3 months, depending on data availability.

Once carried out, the product LCA is independently verified to ensure it meets the PAS2050 standard, (which is based on the IS0 LCA and greenhouse gas accounting standards and is consistent with GHG Protocol). The company then purchases a licence to use the Carbon Reduction Label.

By purchasing a licence, the company commits to reducing the carbon footprint of the product over a 2-year period. To avoid penalising strong performers, no fixed reduction requirement has been established. Instead, targets are agreed and set on a product-by-product basis.

Calculated on the percentage revenue of the product itself, the licence fee starts at around £5,000 (US$5,860 ). Some have complained the licence fee is unaffordable for small and medium-sized enterprises. But despite the initial outlay, the process has so far proven to be a cost saving exercise for those who undertake it. Last month Walker’s Crisps, the first company to complete and achieve its two-year carbon reduction target of 7%, realised a net savings of £400,000 on its bottom line as a direct result of its carbon footprinting and carbon reduction exercises.

While Euan Murray, Carbon Trust, notes that the Carbon Fund is currently assessing other pricing models, he predicts the cost will diminish as LCA models become more refined.

At present, proceedings from the licence fees finance both the Carbon Reduction Label’s global communications campaign, as well as consultation on a PCF communications strategy for licence holders.


United States: Certified Carbon Free (CarbonFund.org Foundation)

Washington-based non-profit organisation, CarbonFund.org’s labelling process takes roughly 4-6 months. Interested parties are referred to the CarbonFund.org’s list of preferred life cycle assessment (LCA) providers, who calculate a per product carbon footprint.

Any recognised processed-based standards can be used for the LCA, including the GHG Protocol, PAS2050 or ISO1400. Upon completion, the product LCA is then reviewed by CarbonFund.org, to ensure it has meets its recommended protocols.

Once approved, the company pays a registration fee of $2,500 and in return is provided with the CertifiedCarbonFree label and marketing kit. The label may or may not quantify the carbon content, depending on preference. Subsequent products can be registered for $500 per product.

The CarbonFund.org monitors the carbon emissions for each product on a quarterly basis and offsets (usually within a year) what the company hasn’t reduced, rendering the product ‘carbon neutral’. Emily Pugliese, CarbonFund.org, says her organisation goes ones step further than the UK’s Carbon Reduction Label by rendering a product carbon neutral while creating dynamic incentives for further CO₂ reduction.

“If a product carbon footprint (PCF) is reduced by 10%, the following year’s registration fee is waived. There is also an inherent incentive to reduce the PCF in that the cost of offsetting is lowered if there is less carbon to offset,” she explains.

Canada: CarbonConnect (CarbonCounted)

Canadian non-profit organisation, CarbonCounted, provides an open, web-based tool, called ‘CarbonConnect’, designed for use by businesses and consultants to track, quantify and manage carbon content throughout the supply chain. The model is designed to engage all suppliers, rather than engaging a singular point of the supply chain.

Of the three models, CarbonCounted is the cheapest, demanding a registration fee of only US $100. Lifecycle analysis is not a prerequisite and most companies have opted to follow the GHG Protocol method to measure emissions, which uses national level economic and environmental impact data to estimate the amount of carbon embedded in a given product. This method relies on national averages and does not draw on company specific processes or practices. Andrew Conway, co-founder, estimates that the time investment for inputting first and second-tier supplier information takes 4-6 months.

The CarbonConnect standard must be independently verified at a separate cost of $100-$5000. Once the methodology has been verified, the user can download the CarbonCounted label and marketing materials. As yet, the label does not provide contextual information; only the carbon content. Conway explained that the label is likely to display carbon content context in the future when PCF has gained greater traction.

Carbon Label	UK: Carbon Reduction Label	United States: Certified Carbon Free	Canada: CarbonCounted
Registration/licence fee US$	Starting from $5,860 -upwards	$2,500 registration. $500 per subsequent product.	$100 per company in supply chain
Separate LCA required	Yes. Cost: US$10,000 upwards	Yes. Cost: $10,000 upwards	Optional
Standard specific	Yes. PAS2050	No	No
Independent vrification required	Yes	Yes	Yes
Marketing support	Included	Included	Not included
Offsets	No	Yes	No
Carbon Label Contents	Carbon content. Context. Recommendations on how consumers can lower the ‘after sales’ carbon impact of the product.	Content: Optional. No context. No recommendation. Claims product is carbon neutral?	Content: Optional. No context. No recommendation.
Number of companies using label	40 (with a further 30 projects underway), including Cadburys, Pepsi Co. and Coca-Cola	11 in total, including Motorola and Florida Crystals	40 including Standard Chartered Bank and investment bank UBS