16 March 2007, 19:22 PM
  • Walkers and Innocent has both started labelling their products with a carbon footprint in an attempt to reduce their future impact on the environment.

Walkers Crisps will show the new carbon logo on the front of its Cheese and Onion packs, which will be available to retailers from mid-April. Also, Innocent has now launched a carbon footprint label on its mangoes and passion fruit smoothie, which measures the impact of the company’s business from field to store.

A packet of Walkers Crisps showed a carbon value of 75g and a mangoes and passion fruit smoothie registered 294g for a 250ml bottle, which was calculated by the Carbon Trust.

To put it into perspective, an apple has a footprint of 37.5g compared to an American cheeseburger that has a footprint of 4.4kg.

To qualify for the label, each company has to show a commitment to managing and reducing their carbon emissions and undergo a carbon analysis from planting a seed, right through to disposal of the product’s packaging.

Neil Campbell, chief executive of Walkers, said, “We think that raising awareness of carbon emissions is the right thing to do. Walkers Crisps has already reduced its energy use per pack by a third since 2000 and we are committed to reducing the carbon footprint of our products even further.”

Innocent said it is hoping to reveal the carbon impact of more of its smoothies, as well as increasing the amount of recycled plastic in its bottles as a way of reducing the carbon footprint. A spokesman said, “We have always been a business that cares about the way we do things and we feel that every business should be doing this. Until you have a clear idea of where you are with your carbon footprint, it is impossible to reduce it.”