Carbon Reduction Label products worth £2bn a year

Research by the Carbon Trust reveals that sales of Carbon Reduction Labelled products, such as Walkers Crisps and Quaker Oats, have reached £2billion.

Research carried out for the Carbon Trust by the Centre for Retail Research also showed that 9 out of 10 households* in the UK bought a carbon labelled product in the last year and predicted sales of carbon labelled products to double in two years**.

The Carbon Reduction Label has reached the landmark figure of £2 billion in just three years. The Label is now displayed on 85 products in total, including PepsiCo brands Walkers Crisps and Quaker Oats.

Walkers crisp packets were the first ever products to display the Carbon Reduction Label in 2007, and to retain the label - following significant carbon reductions - in 2009. The Label follows the PAS 2050 carbon footprinting methodology, which measures the carbon emissions of a product at every step of the supply chain, leading to valuable energy and cost saving opportunities for businesses.

The Carbon Trust developed PAS 2050, the world's first standard for product carbon footprinting, with Defra and BSI British Standards in 2007. Once they have achieved the standard, businesses can use the Carbon Reduction Label to publicise the carbon footprints of their products, and make a public commitment to reducing them.

Richard Evans, President, PepsiCo UK & Ireland said:

"The carbon reduction logo is a public commitment to reducing our carbon footprint year on year and ensures that we work hard to find innovative ways of making efficiencies at every step of our supply chain. We are proud to be leading the way on sustainability, which began by working with the Carbon Trust to understand the carbon footprint of our products, and led to Walkers crisps being the first product worldwide to feature the carbon label on pack."

Euan Murray, Head of Footprinting at the Carbon Trust, said:

"The £2 billion sales figure is a major milestone, and we are proud to see that the Carbon Reduction Label has achieved such momentum in only three years. Forward-thinking businesses are recognising the multiple benefits of carbon footprinting and labelling - from cutting inefficiency and waste from their supply chains, to being transparent about the carbon emissions of their products, and committing to reduce them."

* The Carbon Trust calculation is based in part on data reported by Nielsen through its Homescan Service for defined products carrying the Carbon Reduction Label for the 52-week period ending 4th September 2010 for the Great Britain total grocery market.

** Centre for Retail Research, October 2010

Source: http://www.pepsico.co.uk