Göttingen University presents new environmental seal for food!

Göttingen University presents new environmental seal for food!

The University of Göttingen has launched a new project that deals with the development of an environmental label for sustainable nutrition. This project is called “Development and testing of a climate label for food in Lower Saxony” (EEKlim) and is under the patronage of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. The aim is to offer consumers guidance when purchasing food, particularly with regard to its climate-friendliness.

The concept calls for a color-coded, five-tier label that indicates an environmental score for the products. Food Minister Miriam Staudte emphasizes the importance of the climate relevance of our diet and the need to develop an understandable label. Dr. Birgit Schulze-Ehlers, the project manager, emphasizes that intuitive design is crucial to clearly communicate the environmental friendliness of a product.

Innovative approaches and research results

The planned label is not only represented by a simple color code, but also includes a point scale from 1 to 100. Additional information will be provided via a QR code and a table on the back of the product. The research is based on surveys and experiments with over 23,000 participants, including eye tracking studies and tests in online shops. Remarkably, research showed that incorporating simple cues and discounts increased environmentally friendly product choices by over 60 percent.

The results suggest that many consumers have little use for technical terms such as “biodiversity”. Therefore, it is important that the label is both informative and accessible. The project partners include well-known institutions such as the Chair of “Marketing for Food and Agricultural Products”, the Center for Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use and the Lower Saxony Consumer Center.

Environmental labels as decision-making aids

Environmental labels play an important role in the broader discussion about sustainable products. According to the Federal Environment Agency, such seals offer valuable guidance for environmentally conscious shopping. Five of the best-known environmental labels are:

• EU-Energielabel
• Bio-Siegel
• EU Ecolabel
• Blauer Engel
• Grüner Knopf

These seals make invisible product properties visible, such as the ecological cultivation method or the energy efficiency of household appliances. Good environmental seals meet basic requirements that go beyond legal standards and are regularly checked by independent testing institutions.

In addition, rating portals such as Siegelklarheit.de and label-online.de offer assistance in identifying seals and their meaning. There are also important information for specific products. These can help you make conscious purchasing decisions and reduce your own ecological footprint by favoring environmentally friendly alternatives.

Overall, the University of Göttingen project, in conjunction with existing environmental labels, shows a clear direction to better support consumers in choosing sustainable food more consciously and informedly.

Further information can be found at Nutrition strategy for Lower Saxony and Federal Environment Agency.