In today’s episode Dave talks about carbon labels on consumer products. Providing consumers with carbon footprint information on products may take time before it actually influences purchasing decisions. However once adopted, carbon labeling could be as powerful as product nutrition labels.

Many countries are leading the way for consumer labeling, but each country’s program differs in scope of products, how the footprint is measured, and overall program goals.

Here’s a breakdown in what each country is doing:

Taiwan: will at first apply to PET-bottled beverages, candles, CDs and cookies.

UK: Supermarket food labels will reflect: carbon footprint, country of origin, and animal welfare standards.

Sweden: labels show carbon dioxide emissions associated with the production of foods.

Japan: about 30 companies said they would voluntarily start carrying carbon footprint labels on food packaging and other products beginning in April 2009.

The question is, will these programs simplify or complicate consumer acceptance and understanding of the products’ carbon footprint?

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Drop him a line at davescorner@netgreennews.com