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What you need to know about environmental labelling

Environmental labelling is becoming a key tool for guiding consumers towards more responsible choices. It provides information on theenvironmental impact of a product or service throughout its life cycle. The scheme, backed by the decree implementing France's Climate and Resilience Act, is part of an ecological transition approach. It initially concerns sectors such as textiles (particularly clothing),food and consumer goods. The aim is to make the environmental cost of a product visible, with a simple, understandable and comparable score. At European level, the European Commission is also encouraging the development of environmental labelling as part of its drive towards carbon neutrality. Initiatives such as theEco-score and Planet-score, or the tools proposed byADEME, are based on a rigorous methodology founded onlife-cycle analysis. For organizations, this represents a new challenge, but also an opportunity: to better understand theenvironmental footprint of their products, to promote eco-design and to meet the growing expectations of the public.

 3 Contents

Understanding environmental labelling: what does it mean?

📢 A response to the challenges of environmental transparency

Today's consumers want to know what they're buying. Beyond price or quality, a product'senvironmental impact is becoming a key criterion, reinforcing the demand for sustainability. This is whereenvironmental labelling comes in, supported by tools like ecobalyse to measure concrete results.

This is a system that provides transparent information on the environmental impact of a product or service. The system is based on data measured throughout the product's life cycle: extraction of raw materials, manufacturing, transport, use and end-of-life.

One example: the Planet-score, developed in France with the support ofADEME, indicates the effects of a food product on climate, biodiversity, pesticides and animal welfare. It is already being tested by chains such as Carrefour, Franprix and Biocoop.

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🏛️ A system backed by law and Europe

L'environmental labelling is encouraged by the French Climate and Resilience Act.will be voted in France in 2021. It is initially being tested in high-impact sectors such as textile, l'food or the hygiene products. Since 2022, companies have been able to join voluntary experimentation programs run by ADEME. The aim is to evaluate calculation methods and prepare for nationwide rollout. At the same time European Commission is working on a common framework, called Product Environmental Footprint (PEF). It aims to harmonizeLCA of products on a European scale. This will avoid greenwashing and ensure a common language for all sectors. In the textile industryfor example, several brands such as Decathlon or Petit Bateau are already testing environmental display on their textile products, mainly clothing.

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How is a product's environmental score calculated?

🔍 Methodology and key indicators

Environmental labelling is based on a scientific methodology. The main method used isLife Cycle Assessment (LCA). This method assesses the environmental impact of a product from manufacture to end-of-life.

Among the criteria taken into account:

greenhouse gas emissions ( climate impact)
water and energy consumption
air and soil pollution
waste production
depletion of natural resources

Each product then receives a score or rating, sometimes visual, such as the Eco-score (A to E). This score helps consumers to quickly compare several similar products.

For example, a French yogurt, with recyclable packaging, will have a lower environmental cost than an imported, over-packaged yogurt produced from processed milk.

Other systems, such as Planet-score, add criteria not taken into account in conventional LCA, such as pesticide use or impact on biodiversity.

🧩 The role of companies in data collection

Reliable environmental scores require accurate data. This is a real challenge for companies. They need to collect information along the entire value chain: raw materials, transport, packaging, manufacturing and end-of-life.

In the textile sector, this may involve tracing cotton cultivation, dyeing, manufacturing and shipping of the final product.

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Some companies structure their approach using appropriate tools. For example, a climate strategy supported by a precise diagnosis enables better measurement of greenhouse gas emissions linked to each stage. This is what is offered by the Decarbo'Target® method, a single-criteria approach focused on CO₂ emissions, used by several industrial players to make their life-cycle analysis more reliable.

At the same time, in complex supply chains such as the textile or food industries, structuring the collection of supplier data becomes essential. Solutions such as Decarbo'Supply® centralize this information to ensure more accurate environmental labelling.

These approaches also facilitate the implementation ofeco-design: rethinking a product to reduce its impact on the environment, right from the design stage.

What's at stake for businesses and consumers?

🌱 A differentiation opportunity for committed brands

Environmental labelling is not a constraint. It's also an opportunity for companies to stand out from the crowd. Brands that adopteco-design approaches, reduce their environmental costs, or communicate transparently inspire confidence.

For example, Léa Nature already displays the Eco-score on some of its food products. Decathlon, for its part, indicates the carbon impact of several items of clothing on its website. These initiatives show that it is possible to take action, even in complex sectors.

But beware of greenwashing. A misleading or incomplete display can damage a company's image. That's why it's essential to rely on a rigorous method and verifiable data.

Some companies reinforce their strategy with tools such as Decarbo'Target®, which help them set realistic reduction targets and better manage their ecological transition. This ensures consistency between their commitments and the environmental labeling they promote.

🛒 A choice tool for consumers

Consumers are increasingly aware of the environmental impact of their purchases. A good environmental display enables them to make informed choices quickly and easily.. On the shelves, they can compare two similar products: a B-rated cheese with a low carbon footprint, against a D-rated cheese made on the other side of the world. The same goes for jeans produced in short circuits, which are less polluting than fast-fashion models.. L'eco-scorethe Planet-scoreenvironmental labels are becoming useful benchmarks. But they are no substitute for deep commitment on the part of companies. These tools need to be combined with concrete action on the ground, in factories, supply chains and transport systems. Some organizations are also structuring their value chains to better control these impacts. Here are a few examples, the Decarbo'Supply® solution helps track the carbon footprint of products and servicesbased on supplier data. This strengthens the quality of information transmitted to consumers.

Environmental labelling is an essential lever for accelerating the ecological transition. It makes visible what was often invisible: theenvironmental impact of the products we consume every day. For consumers, it's a clear benchmark. For organizations, it's a tool for progress. It encourages them to better understand theenvironmental footprint of their activities, to rethink their methods, and to innovate. But for the system to work, it needs reliable data, a transparent methodology and a real commitment to change. Solutions such as Decarbo'Solution® can help companies achieve this, by combining precision, action and consistency.