The Planet Score: Is it mandatory for agri-food industry professionals?

The environmental display in the agri-food sector aims to inform consumers about the environmental impacts of food. For this purpose, several labels have been developed, and the Planet Score is the one that has been chosen. It provides relevant and objective information to consumers, allowing them to compare products during their purchases to favor environmentally friendly products. The purpose of the Planet Score is to encourage agri-food industry professionals to reduce their environmental impact and make efforts in eco-design.

You already use the Nutri-score, the label that informs your customers about the nutritional values of a product. The Planet score is a second label that is making its way into agri-food professionals.

The device was established following the AGEF law (Anti-Waste Circular Economy) of February 2020 and the Climate and Resilience law of August 2021. A call had been made to create an environmental display system for agri-food in the form of a label. The Planet score was selected for this purpose.

This label displays environmental criteria. A grade from A to E is assigned based on 3 sub-indicators:

• Pesticides: the use or non-use of pesticides.
• Biodiversity: the impact of agricultural practices on biodiversity.
• Climate: carbon storage in soils and greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition to these criteria, there is also an indicator on animal welfare (this sub-indicator concerns products containing at least 5% of animal products for pig, poultry, cattle, or sheep farms). The score is displayed in color: green, orange, or red.

The purpose of the Planet Score is very clear: to combat biodiversity decline, climate change, air and water pollution, deforestation, etc. By informing consumers about the environmental impact of food, it calls for general awareness, without greenwashing and by promoting transparency.

France is not the only country concerned: dozens of countries have also committed to this, including England, Italy, Spain, and Germany.

So far, environmental display in agri-food has been voluntary. However, the Planet score is expected to become mandatory gradually by 2024 or 2025. A decree will be issued in 2023 to specify the methodology and final modalities of the system. However, agri-food industry professionals have every interest in adopting environmental display and the Planet score now. Indeed, this can bring them several advantages: It is a way to differentiate themselves from the competition by responding to consumer demand: better understanding the environmental impact of food and having the ability to compare foods in the same category. Consumers are increasingly attentive and demanding on these issues and may prioritize “transparent” products in the future. Better knowledge of their products and identification of potential areas for improvement before the Planet score becomes mandatory. Industrialists also have every interest in anticipating regulations. If environmental display in agri-food is currently voluntary, the Planet score could become mandatory as early as 2023. It is worth noting that all food products are concerned: fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, meats, eggs, prepared dishes, etc.

The Planet score is calculated using numerous indicators, including:

⇒ State databases, particularly Agribalyse from ADEME.
⇒ The impact of agricultural practices on biodiversity.
⇒ Data from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).
⇒ Ingredient origin, cultivation/raising method, packaging used, transportation, etc.
⇒ The LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) method and improvements to this method as it is incomplete for the agri-food industry. This method is notably used for evaluating pesticide use.

When a product consists of multiple ingredients, each element is assessed, and a prorated score is applied based on the quantity of each ingredient, resulting in an overall score.

This process should enable agri-food industry professionals to identify areas for improvement.

Livestock farming methods are evaluated separately. The criteria are based on a grid created by the CIWF France, which advocates for animal protection.

Here are the recommendations from ADEME for effectively using the Planet score:

⇒ Awareness: The first step is to understand the device’s stakes and commitments. Consider the best way to implement environmental display, especially regarding technical and logistical frameworks.

⇒ Engagement: The company defines which services will be involved in the process and what this entails. Define the project scope and take stock of available resources.

⇒ Data collection: The industrialist gathers all specific data for each product to evaluate them later. This collection may sometimes be partially done externally, from various actors in the sector.

⇒ Environmental product evaluation: The collected data is analyzed to calculate the environmental impact of each food product. A tool performing life cycle analyses must be used.

⇒ Results analysis and score assignment: A grade from A to E is assigned to different sub-indicators for each product.

⇒ Score verification: An individual selected by ADEME will verify the conformity of the data, tools used, and scores assigned.

⇒ Score display: Once everything is validated, the scores can be displayed on foodstuffs through the Planet score.

Discover how Dametis can assist you in reducing your environmental impact and thereby improving the Planet score of your products:

• • To Save Water
  • To Reduce your Carbon Footprint
  • To reduce material loss
  • To consume less energy