We can’t solve the climate crisis alone. But if we all take steps in our everyday shopping habits to reduce our carbon footprint, it all adds up. This is the message from Carbon Trust, a company of experts whose mission is to accelerate the move to a decarbonised future.

Carbon footprint labels

The Carbon Trust offers carbon footprint labels to help shoppers seek out brands which are working to reduce their impact on the environment.

Carbon Trust believes that the more we understand about a product’s environmental footprint, the better choices we can make. The hope is that by raising awareness and encouraging people to choose more sustainable products, consumers will send a message to the brands they buy that they care about the planet and the impact of their products.

If brands start to listen to this message and label more of their products, it should encourage their competitors and other brands to follow suit.

The Carbon Trust offers product carbon footprint labels as a key part of its mission to accelerate the move to a decarbonised future. The label shows that a brand is working to measure and reduce the carbon emissions of a product and demonstrates its commitment for the future.

As everything we produce, buy and use has an environmental impact, if you’re looking to lessen that impact and shop more sustainably, one way is to look out for the Carbon Trust’s footprint label on products you buy.

‘Carbon Trust certified’

The leading environmental label features a footprint with the words ‘Carbon Trust Certified’ on it. This means the carbon footprint of the product or its packaging has been measured to internationally recognised standards and verified by the Carbon Trust.

The carbon footprint of a product is the total carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases emitted during its lifecycle. That includes production, distribution, use and disposal.

Sometimes on products or packaging you’ll see a panel sharing more information about the footprint. On smaller products with limited space there might just be a website address or QR code you can scan with your smartphone camera to read more.

The information provided lets you know if the product’s carbon footprint is:

● Reducing year-on-year
● Carbon neutral
● Lower than other best-known products.

Having launched the world’s first carbon footprint label in 2007, the Carbon Trust has now certified over 27,000 individual products in more than 40 countries. You can look for its footprint label on Tetra Pak packaging, Wyke Farms’ cheese, Evian water, Quorn products and many more brands.

You can view a full list of certified organisations here at the Carbon Trust website.

If you want to take action now on the climate crisis you can help by choosing products with the Carbon Trust’s footprint label.

Visit our Going greener page for further practical steps to make your Sandwell business greener.