Enviroscore: normalization, weighting, and categorization algorithm to evaluate the relative environmental impact of food and drink products

This paper proposes a 5-scale label (Enviroscore: A, B, C, D, E) to communicate the relative environmental impact of food and drink products, using the European food basket as a reference. A single dimensionless index, the European Food Environmental Footprint Single Index (EFSI), aggregates 13 environmental impact categories using normalization and weighting factors. The EFSI's effectiveness was evaluated against the EC Single Score, showing better capture of water stress impact variability. Thresholds for the 5-scale Enviroscore were established and validated using the Delphi method (weighted Kappa 0.642; p = 0.0025). Enviroscore effectively accounts for impact variability between and within food products, influenced by product type, origin, and transportation. The study concludes by presenting a method for communicating environmental impact assessment on front-of-packaging labels.

Saioa Ramos, Lucia Segovia, Angela Melado-Herreros, Maite Cidad, Jaime Zufía, Liesbet Vranken, Christophe Matthys