Tesco becomes UK's first retailer to display carbon footprint on milk

Methane from cows accounts for biggest proportion of greenhouse gases, as supermarket aims to 'footprint' 500 products by the end of the year
Rebecca Smithers, consumer affairs correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Monday 17 August 2009 15.59 BST
Supermarket giant Tesco has become the first UK retailer to display the full carbon footprint of milk — one of the top-selling products in its stores.
From today, all Tesco own-label full-fat, semi-skimmed and skimmed milk ranges will display the carbon footprint label as part of an on-going drive to help shoppers make "green" purchasing decisions. It has pledged to "footprint" 500 products by the end of the year. The new labelling will not apply to organic milk, where greenhouse gas emissions are generally much lower than for conventional milk.
The move comes alongside new research which found that 50% of customers surveyed now understand the correct meaning of the term "carbon footprint", compared with only 32% of people surveyed in 2008. The research also revealed that customers increasingly want to be green. Over half said they that would seek lower carbon footprint products as part of their weekly shop, compared with only 35% last year.
Tesco community and government director David North said: "We're using [milk] to play an important new role in helping our customers understand climate change, the carbon footprints of products, and what steps they can take to help. Milk is not only one of the biggest sellers in store; it's also prominent on breakfast tables day in day out across the country. So we think carbon labels on milk can play a great part in raising awareness and helping customers navigate the new carbon currency."
Tesco said that with milk it is the agricultural stage that accounts for by far the biggest portion of the carbon footprint — in this case the most significant factor being methane emissions from the cows themselves. Tesco is already working to reduce these emissions alongside the dairy industry and farmers through the Tesco Sustainable Dairy Group and Dairy Centre of Excellence at the University of Liverpool.
North added: "We are currently embarking on a number of research projects to reduce the carbon emissions from milk production. For example, we're working on using different feeds that might help reduce methane emissions from cows, and encouraging the use of renewable energy on farms."
Cutting the greenhouse gas emissions of conventional fresh milk has been a major challenge because of the methane emitted by cows, relative to other animals used for food such as pigs and chickens.
Euan Murray, Carbon Footprinting General Manager of the Carbon Trust said: "Milk is found in almost every UK home and it is taking small actions in our daily lives that will help us really make a difference in tackling climate change. The Carbon Trust have been consistently impressed by the scale and ambition of Tesco's carbon footprinting work, which will make a real difference in building consumer understanding and de-carbonising our daily shopping."
The Carbon Trust is working with Dairy UK to help the milk industry understand more about its carbon footprints as a route to greater emission reductions, he added.