Consumers' attention to the environmental impact of the food products they buy is growing rapidly. To provide him with more information and tools to make more informed choices, the ECO2 Initiative was already in France in January, supported by various digital, distribution and catering actors (Yuka, Open Food Facts, Scan Up, La Fourche, Foodchéri, Seazon , FrigoMagic and Marmiton), had created Eco-Score, a Front-of-Pack labeling system that allows you to classify food products based on their environmental impact (see also news EFA News ). Also from France, a new proposal has recently arrived for a voluntary labeling system relating to the environmental impact of food products, which however also takes into account the use of pesticides, the impact on climate and biodiversity, and well-being. animal.

Planet-Score was proposed by the Institut de Agriculture et de l'Aimentation biologiques (Itab), an applied research institution that aims to generate and share knowledge to improve organic production and processing; Sayari, a design studio that develops environmental metrics in the food sector; and Very Good Future, which deals with impact analysis, with particular attention to consumer studies and behavioral sciences in order to maximize the effects produced on behavioral changes.

In application of the law on the fight against food waste and on the circular economy, the French government has launched an 18-month trial to define, by the end of 2021, environmental labeling for food products. This new proposal therefore responds to the call for projects launched last year by the Ecological Transition Agency (Ademe) and the French Ministry of Ecology.

Planet-Score is based on the Life Cycle Assessment (Lca), a tool used to analyze the environmental impact of a product, activity or process along all stages of the life cycle, starting from the acquisition of raw materials. up to management at the end of the useful life, including the manufacturing, distribution and use phases. In addition to this, a series of additional indicators have been integrated relating to elements that according to the creators of this new system are not sufficiently taken into account in the Lca method (pesticides, climate, biodiversity and animal welfare).