Carbon Footprints

The Economist’s article “Following the Footprints” expounds on carbon-footprint labels that are appearing on food products, especially in Europe. The concept is interesting and useful:

“The idea was that carbon labels would let shoppers identify products with the smallest carbon footprints, just as other labels already indicate dolphin-friendly tuna, organic milk or Fairtrade coffee. Producers would compete to reduce the carbon footprints of their products, and consumers would be able to tell whether, for example, locally made goods really were greener than imported ones.”

While local vs imported products isn’t very relevant to Singaporeans, carbon-footprint labels would definitely help consumers in making a more informed choice. A French retailer has taken it one step further – and I’m not even sure Singapore’s supermarkets all indicate cost per kilogram:

“E. Leclerc, another French retailer, has pioneered two novel twists on carbon labelling in a handful of its stores. It has fixed labels to store shelves showing the carbon emissions per kilogram of produce next to the usual price tags showing cost per kilogram. “

The article also highlighted that carbon footprints did not end with the manufacturing of the product. In fact, “use-phase” emissions should be considered too, whereby the carbon footprint of usage of the product should be considered:

“The emissions associated with a bottle of shampoo depend on how long you spend in the shower, how hot the water is and what sort of boiler you have.”

it would be great if Singapore had a larger green movement. Recycling isn’t even widely practised here; my office doesn’t even recycle bottles and cans, and a staff feedback system is no longer existent.