Product labelling most often takes place in either of the following two ways:
• On the packaging, the company states the amount of grams of CO2
emitted into the atmosphere as a result of manufacture, transport, use
and disposal of the relevant product. This type of product labelling is used
for shoes and boots from Timberland, for example.
• The company documents that the product meets a range of specific
requirements and is thus allowed to use a product label showing that the
product is more climate-friendly than other similar products.
Denmark does not yet have a specific CO2 label, but uses both the Nordic ecolabel known as The Swan and the European ecolabel. The Flower states criteria for energy consumption and thus climate impact.
> Further information about The Flower and The Swan
Other markets already have CO2 labelling schemes and more are probably to come. In England, Arla, among other companies, is working on a label informing the consumer of the climate impact of one litre of milk from the cow to the refrigerated counter.
> Further information about product labels in other countries
The calculations underlying product labels involve great uncertainty in the vast majority of cases. Preparing estimates of indirect emissions related to, say, raw materials production, outsourcing and transport is often highly difficult. This means that the reliability of CO2 labels is often debated, and the company must naturally be very aware of this when considering working with product labelling.