The information presented in a climate or environmental label is based on life cycle assessment data along the food’s life cycle up to the point of sale. In a climate label, only the effects on the climate are presented; in an environmental label, other environmental effects are also presented, such as the effects on biodiversity or with regard to water scarcity.
However, in order to be able to present this information in a credible, comprehensible label that contributes to an informed purchasing decision, a correspondingly valid database is required. Unfortunately, there is currently no publicly available database for environmental information on food that reflects the situation in Germany. Yet this is central – not only for climate or environmental labels, but also, for example, for calculating greenhouse gas emissions for raw food products as part of a corporate corporate carbon footprint. The situation is different in France. With the Agribalyse database developed there, France is setting a good example here. As Ulrike Eberle mentioned in her presentation, this database should also be used as a starting point for the development of an environmental database for food in Germany.
corsus is developing a methodological concept as part of the project “Development and testing of a climate label in Lower Saxony” (EEKlim). This includes recommendations on databases but also on how to deal with data gaps and how to handle specific data. For the BMUV, corsus conducted a study on climate labels versus Ecoscore and developed a roadmap to a climate and environmental label there.
