Vague climate claims on food product packaging have come under scrutiny in a Finnwatch report released on Tuesday.
The corporate watchdog organisation revealed that product packaging includes invented logos and claims which firms decline to back up when asked.
"What's written on the package doesn't help consumers make environmentally friendly choices because the labels and claims are confusing, and the calculation of the carbon footprint behind them varies a lot," said Finnwatch's climate expert Lasse Leipola.
Unsubstantiated claims and outdated information
Finnwatch's report scrutinised a total of nine products with carbon footprint or climate-related labels, including dog foods, coffees, milk and oat drinks.
Planti oat drink was called out for sporting a 'Climate Positive' label without offering any supporting data on its carbon footprint or claims on the manufacurer's website.
Finnwatch also found discrepancies in Swedish company Oatly's eco-friendly claims. While their iKaffe Barista Edition oat drink boasts a carbon footprint of 0.30 kilograms of CO2 equivalent per kilogram of product, Finnwatch discovered the actual emissions to be higher at 0.37 kilograms per kilogram, based on Oatly's information in a carbon database.
Finnwatch also challenged a CO2-offset label used by dog food brand Hau-Hau Champion. While the package states that additional information is available on the manufacturer's website, Finnwatch found the company made up the label, and additional details appeared on the website only after its representative enquired about it.
Prima Pet Premium, the manufacturer of Hau-Hau Champion dog food, told Yle that they plan to discontinue the self-proclaimed label.
Manufacturers blame mergers, outdated packaging
Valio's Oddlygood acquired Nordic brand Planti last year. As a result, Oddlygood has limited information about the 'Climate Positive' logo's background, director Reetta Tikanmäki stated in an email to Yle.
Tikanmäki added that the packaging hadn't been updated earlier to avoid waste, and that the new packaging will not carry the logo.
Swedish company Oatly also said that product packaging was not updated to reduce packaging waste. Information on the company's website updates faster than on packaging materials, sustainability manager Lena Lölfing told Yle via email.
Finnwatch also called out Paulig's Mundo Original coffee for using a "Carbon Neutral Coffee" label without specific details on the package or the company's website.
Paulig provided calculations upon request for different coffees' carbon footprints, but none of the calculations pertained to Mundo Original coffee.
Head of Sustainable Transformation at Paulig, Salla Sulasuo said emissions are reduced throughout the product's lifecycle and the remainder is offset.
"What we can disclose, whether on packaging or websites, is limited due to business confidentiality," she said.
EU directives aim to regulate use of eco labels
Companies were unprepared for detailed climate impact enquiries, according to Leipola from Finnwatch. While product labelling needs improvement, Leipola stressed that the claims aren't fraudulent.
"At least some level of activity, interest, and concern for the climate was found behind all of them," he said.
However, he warns of products seeking climate-label benefits without real actions, attributing the issue to inadequate regulation.
Finland's consumer ombudsman and the standards guiding the calculation of carbon footprints recommend that reliable justifications for climate claims be made available to consumers, but instructions are hardly followed, Leipola said.
There are currently two directives in progress in the EU aimed at curbing so-called green claims attached to products and weed out companies' own environmental labels. In the future, a product cannot be called carbon-neutral solely by offsetting emissions.
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