In a significant move towards sustainable food systems, two major European initiatives, FOODTURE and ECO FOOD CHOICE, are announcing a strategic collaboration to develop a harmonised methodology for environmental footprinting of food products. This partnership aims to submit a scientifically validated framework to the European Commission in early 2027, laying the groundwork for a harmonised environmental labelling system by 2028.
While FOODTURE develops comprehensive environmental footprinting methodologies, covering the full scope from regionalised data collection to the definition of footprint rules that include ecolabeling frameworks, ECO FOOD CHOICE focuses specifically on the harmonisation and practical implementation of these rules into a unified, consumer-facing ecolabeling system. By joining forces, the projects ensure that the future ecolabel is built upon a regionally-specific scientific foundation, creating a seamless link between broad footprinting science and targeted labelling application.
The collaboration addresses a critical gap in current sustainability assessment: the lack of regionalized data in standardized rules. Both projects are jointly working to integrate FOODTURE’s advanced methodological developments, including 8,000+ regionalized Life Cycle Inventories (LCIs), spatially-explicit biodiversity indicators, and precision agriculture data, directly into a unified multi-stakeholder framework. By co-developing this integration, the partnership ensures the resulting umbrella PEFCR (Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules Guidance) is grounded in high-resolution science and practically applicable for industry and consumers.
This partnership represents a pivotal step in operationalising the EU Green Deal, ensuring that future environmental claims are backed by the most advanced, location-specific science available.
About ECO FOOD CHOICE: ECO FOOD CHOICE is a LIFE program initiative uniting researchers and companies to harmonize environmental labelling across Europe, aiming for a validated system by 2028. Learn more at ECO FOOD CHOICE.
