ECO-SCORE: Partnership for an environmentally friendly choice at SV Restaurant

CO₂ footprint

Food has very different effects on the climate. Animal-based foods in particular require more resources in their production or cause emissions themselves (e.g. methane from cows). This means they have a greater impact on the climate and the environment. The CO2 footprint is one of the most important indicators of sustainable production. It corresponds to the sum of greenhouse gases released during the entire production process - from farming to delivery.

The water footprint corresponds to the sum of water consumption and water pollution (freshwater and seawater). Here too, animal-based foods often require more water for their production than others. The origin also plays a role, as not all geographical areas and countries have the same amount of fresh water available. The water consumption of a foodstuff therefore refers to the water consumption of the respective foodstuff and the drought stress (water availability) of the country of production. Water pollution includes the eutrophication of fresh and salt water. Eutrophication occurs when too many nutrients lead to over-fertilization of water bodies.

The soil and its ecosystem are fundamental resources for agriculture. These valuable resources can be damaged by agricultural use. The land use of a food product refers to its impact on the soil. The more a product pollutes the soil and its ecosystem (e.g. deforestation, monocultures or intensive cultivation), the greater the impact.

Seasonality applies to fruit and vegetables and whether the natural production cycles of these foods have been taken into account. If this is not the case, certain foods have to be grown in heated greenhouses, which causes high greenhouse gas emissions if they are heated with fossil fuels.
Important: Local products are not necessarily compatible with seasonality: e.g. eating Swiss tomatoes in February is local, but not seasonal.

How farm animals are kept depends primarily on the agricultural production method. For two similar animal foods, the husbandry conditions can vary greatly and have different effects on animal welfare and general compliance with environmental standards. The type of feeding also plays a decisive role. The most important sources of information are currently agricultural labels (production conditions, breeding or catching method) and the relevant legislation in the countries of production, as well as information on specific forms of husbandry (e.g. free-range, barn farming) or special animal husbandry programs.

For all foods, biodiversity loss is at least as big a challenge as climate change. Some agricultural production methods are more environmentally friendly than others and promote biodiversity and its essential ecosystem services to varying degrees. For example, more environmentally friendly methods leave space for unused areas such as flower strips and hedges. The most important sources of information are currently labels (production conditions, breeding or fishing methods) and the relevant legislation in the producing countries.

As a rule, agricultural production is responsible for the majority of the environmental impact in the life cycle of a food product. Transporting food by air contributes to a very high CO₂ footprint. It is estimated that energy consumption is 30 times higher when food is transported by air than by truck. Therefore, the mode of transportation and the distance are also evaluated.

The environmental impact of each type of packaging depends on how much material is needed to package the product, the environmental impact of producing the raw materials and whether they can be recycled.

Overfishing of the oceans has increased significantly in recent decades, with the result that around a third of fish stocks are now overfished. This criterion assesses whether the fish stock is in balance and which fishing method was used.

The company's sustainability policy includes measures that are not directly related to agricultural production, but which contribute to reducing the environmental impact at company level. The information used comes from a comprehensive questionnaire completed by the brands or manufacturers. In addition, the environmental policy of the production countries is also included in the assessment, which is evaluated using the Environmental Performance Index(EPI).
 

ECO-SCORE® compares the environmental impact of foods based on their energy content (kcal) rather than their weight (kg) so that the different product categories and their environmental impact can be meaningfully compared. This means that the impact of each ingredient is weighted in relation to its energy content and with regard to all the above assessment criteria in the final product. So we can compare apples with pears.