Upfield introduces carbon labelling to help consumers make informed decisions about the environmental impact of foods they choose
Leading plant-based nutrition company Upfield recently announced on-pack carbon labelling to 100 million packs of its plant-based spreads, margarines, plant-based butters, and plant-based creams by the end of 2021. The goal is to help consumers make informed decisions about the environmental impact of the foods they choose. Brands including Country Crock Plant Butter in the United States and Flora Plant in the UK and Ireland have introduced the new labels. In the coming months Upfield plans to roll out the labels on their leading brands including Flora, Becel, ProActiv and Rama.
Following an initial study in 2016, Upfield commissioned Swiss sustainability consultancy Quantis to independently assess the environmental impact of the entire life cycle Upfield’s products. The results were published in a peer-reviewed study in the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. The study, conducted across 21 markets in Europe and North America, found that the production of Upfield’s plant-based margarines and spreads have on average a 70% smaller carbon footprint, use half the amount of water and occupy 2/3 less land than dairy butter.