What the European Commission is proposing
The European Commission is planning to label the sustainability of food products. To measure the environmental score, the Commission favors the LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) method, a tool that calculates the environmental impacts based on yields, i.e. per kg or per liter of finished product.
LCA gives a significant advantage to the most intensive production methods and measures very poorly the impacts of pesticides on health, soil, air or water quality.
In the end, an environmental labelling based on LCA would encourage production methods using pesticides and chemical fertilizers the most and would penalize extensive productions such as organic farming or open-air rearing whose positive impacts on biodiversity and animal welfare are not accounted for.
What we want
We are proposing to the European Commission the Planet-score method which makes it possible to correct the flaws and biases of the Life Cycle Assessment.
Developed in France by ITAB and its partners, the Planet-score combines an aggregate score and 3 sub-indicators (on pesticides, biodiversity and climate), plus an indicator targeting the method of production of animals.
The score orients towards an agroecological transition scenario and accounts for progress initiatives in total transparency. It is in tune with the goals of the Farm to Fork strategy, especially the target of halving the pesticide use by 2030.
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We are proposing to the European Commission the Planet-score method which makes it possible to correct the flaws and biases of the Life Cycle Assessment.
Developed in France by ITAB and its partners, the Planet-score combines an aggregate score and 3 sub-indicators (on pesticides, biodiversity and climate), plus an indicator targeting the method of production of animals.
The score orients towards an agroecological transition scenario and accounts for progress initiatives in total transparency. It is in tune with the goals of the Farm to Fork strategy, especially the target of halving the pesticide use by 2030.