Eco-labelling has ‘no significant effect’ on the environmental impact of food purchases in workplace cafeterias, a new study published in BMC Public Health has found.
The study, ‘Testing the effect of eco-labels on the environmental impact of food purchases in worksite cafeterias’, conducted a randomised controlled trial to assess whether eco-labels encourage consumers to opt for more sustainable meal options, or meat-free options.
‘Environmental sustainability labels (eco-labels) are increasingly used by businesses to inform consumers about the environmental impact of their food choices, and make the opportunity to select lower impact foods more salient,’ the researchers noted.
As part of the study, some 54 cafeterias, were analysed in the study, divided into two groups: control (35 sites) and those incorporating eco-labels (19 sites). Sites that were selected needed to be able to provide daily-level sales data that specified types and counts of meals sold, have a minimum of 50 transactions per day at baseline, and offer at least two main meal options, one of which was vegetarian. All participating cafeterias operated a four-week menu cycle.
Environmental impact
Over 12 weeks, the environmental impact of hot meals sold was measured using a composite score of indicators, including greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, eutrophication, and water scarcity.
As the researchers found, there was no significant effect of eco-labels on the total environmental impact of meals sold.
Across a six-week intervention period, the mean difference between control and eco-label sites was -1.4%, with wide confidence intervals (-33.6% to +30.8%). Similarly, there was no meaningful impact on any of the individual environmental indicators or on the weekly environmental impact scores during the trial.
‘Eco-labels may not be an effective tool to shift consumer behaviour in worksite cafeterias towards meals with lower environmental impact,’ the researchers concluded.
They added that further research will be needed to identify and optimise interventions that effectively support sustainable eating habits in settings such as cafeterias. Read more here.
