LIFE Environmental Data & Ecolabeling for Sustainable Food Choice

Introduction

The general objective of the LIFE ECO FOOD CHOICE project is to share learnings and experiences at the EU level, in order to develop and test new methodologies for life cycle inventories and environmental scores on food, as well as a labeling scheme. The project is led by 9 organisations from 4 EU countries - France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain - and its results will enable the further development in each country of national and regional databases, as well as food environmental impacts' labeling schemes.

Project Tasks

More specifically, the project entails the following tasks:

1. Development of Methodology
   The development of a harmonised methodology for life cycle inventory in Europe, as well as guidelines to adapt life cycle data from one country or region to another, with the creation of new datasets covering 30 products in 3 countries (Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain).

2. Aggregation of LCA Scores
   The development of a harmonised methodology for aggregating the LCA scores and complementing them to calculate a food environmental score (E-score), and a classification scheme.

3. Label Format Development
   The development of a label format and visual that will be tested and validated in real-life conditions with consumers and farmers. The pilots will be organized in laboratories, supermarkets, and canteens in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, reaching 56,300 European consumers in total.

4. Communication and Dissemination
   Communication and dissemination activities, in order to spread the project's results at the EU level, among researchers, agri-food professionals, and public authorities.

Alignment with EU Priorities

It is in line with the priorities of the LIFE 2022 Environmental governance call, as it will raise awareness on a crucial environmental topic - the sustainability of the food system and the consumers' information - contributing to the EU works on food LCA, the Farm to Fork Strategy, the Zero Pollution Action Plan, and ultimately the Green Deal objectives.