Blog

The media frenzy that erupted as Tesco admitted having second-thoughts on carbon footprint labels may have inflicted lasting damage on a once promising sector.

Back in 2007, when former CEO Terry Leahy promised to bring in carbon labels for all Tesco products everything seemed rosy. Soon after, the company announced a trial of the Carbon Trust’s Carbon Reduction Label, promising a ‘revolution in green consumption’. Consumers would be able to know from the label the amount of greenhouse gases used during the life of each product. 

Fast-forward to 2012 and Tesco has now decided to drop the Carbon Trust label, putting in doubt its entire future in carbon labelling. The chain denies it has given up on carbon labels, saying it is simply “re-evaluating” what works for its customers.

To read the full article, please click here.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently certified Frito-Lay’s Pulaski, Tenn., plant as an ENERGY STAR facility in recognition of the site’s outstanding energy conservation efforts.

ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the EPA and U.S. Department of Energy. To be ENERGY STAR certified, a facility must meet strict energy performance standards. Such facilities use less energy, are less expensive to operate and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions than their peers.  For a manufacturing plant to qualify for the ENERGY STAR, it must earn a 75 or higher on the EPA's 100-point energy performance scale, indicating that the facility performs better than at least 75% of similar buildings nationwide.

PepsiCo has been an ENERGY STAR partner since 2004, in recognition of its overall energy conservation efforts. Last year, the company earned Partner of the Year for the fifth consecutive year, including with "Sustained Excellence" for the fourth consecutive year.

To read the full story, please click here.