On the 30th of June, the European Commission registered a citizens' initiative to request an eco-score that highlights the ecological impact of various products. The eco-score follows the trend of the already tested nutri-score (for the nutritional value of foods) and it is proposed in a traffic light scale from A to E from the lowest to the highest environmental impact.
Testing of the eco-score has already begun in France, Germany and the Netherlands in different supermarkets and by various platforms and apps. The request registered by the Commission would be needed to standardize, at the EU level, the calculation and the related label that measures the environmental impact.
The different realities in which the eco-score is being tested use their own calculation of the impact on the environment, many starting from the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment). Not only should be used the same methodology, but other elements should also be taken into account (not considered by the life cycle analysis), such as the loss of biodiversity.
Therefore, the focal point will be to find shared parameters to calculate the ecological impact of each product. This is fundamental in order to apply a label which, on the one hand, informs and guides the consumer relatively to its own choice, and, on the other, pushes towards the production of more sustainable goods that take into account the environmental impact at all stages of the supply chain.
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