Lhe so-called “environmental” display, developed within the framework of the Climate and Resilience law of July 2021, should shed light on the current jungle of labels through certified scores or “eco-scores” affixed to each product or service to allow the consumer to assess the impact on the environment by freeing themselves from the traps of greenwashing.
But in a context of reversal on European environmental public policies, the French public authorities could make hasty decisions in the coming weeks concerning the terms of this environmental display. Indeed, the official calculation method project is at odds with part of French public research, particularly in systemic agronomy and ecology.
We are delighted that the State is deploying this environmental display system and guaranteeing it. However, behind the sticker which will indicate the impact of a pizza or a plane ride, questions must be answered: How were these scores created? Who guarantees the reliability of the calculation? Is the indication credible?
Agricultural intensification justified
Quantifying the impact of our activities on the environment in this way is not easy. This has never been done before and on such a large scale. However, at the current stage, numerous and serious reservations are expressed about the method envisaged by the public authorities, both by scientists and by the European Commission.
Among the diversity of possibilities, it is the methodology known as “life cycle analysis” (LCA) which has been pushed to the forefront, promoted by the organizers of the French experiment in synergy with environmental scoring work. on a European scale PEF (Product Environmental Footprint [méthode d’empreinte environnementale de produit]). This LCA-PEF methodological base has been defended as “the” solution to the problem of calculating the environmental score. It therefore serves as a basis for calculation in the score simulator governmental Ecobalysis.
The ACV-PEF method was promising due to its standardization (it is certified ISO 14040) providing it with an international reputation. But its testing in a real situation revealed the pot aux roses: the scores generated for products in the agricultural and textile sectors, shared during the 2021 French experiment, made many agronomists and ecologists (in addition to environmental associations and NGOs on a French and European scale).
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