Swedish supermarket chain Coop has launched sustainability declarations in its shopping app in a move that the retailer is calling ‘revolutionary’
In the same way that a content declaration shows what a product is made of, the sustainability declaration shows a product from a sustainability perspective.
Specifically, Coop’s Declaration of Sustainability assesses how much or how little a product affects the climate, the environment and society based on ten different areas. For example. the risk of a negative impact on biodiversity or poor working conditions during production. Information that many consumers want but which is difficult to find. As a first aid for you who want to eat more sustainably.
The Declaration of Sustainability is based on the industry collaboration Sustainable Food Chain’s ten aspects of sustainable products, which in turn are based on the UN’s 17 global goals for sustainable development, Agenda 2030.
By scanning the barcode of an item, the customer receives information about the product’s footprint based on ten different areas related to climate, environment and society. The Sustainability Declaration has a scale of one to five in each area. The lower the figures an item has – the lower the sustainability footprint the product is deemed to have.
Shoppers are encouraged to download the Coop app and scan the barcode directly in the store “or at home in the refrigerator” where they will be able to see the product’s sustainability declaration.
The development has been welcomed by Sweden’s leading organic body KRAV, which said that “the sustainability declaration will help customers eat more sustainably, but also guide the development of Coop’s range”. It congratulated “Coop Sverige, Charlotta Szczepanowski for good work that builds on the work of WWF ‘s Sustainable Food Chain initiative”, and noted that the new feature shows KRAV-certified products in an especially environmentally favourable light.
Image: Coop’s shopping app. Coop Sweden
