Thirty-seven products were labelled to indicate embodied carbon emissions, and sales were recorded over a 3-month period.
Green (below average), yellow (near average), and black (above average) footprints indicated carbon emissions embodied in
groceries. The overall change in purchasing pattern was small, with black-labelled sales decreasing 6% and green-labelled
sales increasing 4% after labelling. However, when green-labelled products were also the cheapest, the shift was more substantial,
with a 20% switch from black- to green-label sales. These findings illustrate the potential for labelling to stimulate reductions
in carbon emissions.
Keywords Carbon label – Ecological footprint – Emissions reduction – Green consumers – Consumer environmental purchasing behaviour