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Psychological effectiveness of carbon labelling

Nature Climate Change volume 2, pages 214–217 (2012)Cite this article

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Despite the decision by supermarket-giant Tesco to delay its plan to add carbon-footprint information onto all of its 70,000 products, carbon labelling, if carefully designed, could yet change consumer behaviour. However, it requires a new type of thinking about consumers and much additional work.

In an important speech in 2007, the then chief executive of Tesco, Sir Terry Leahy, announced a call to arms to tackle climate change. The message was simple but profound: “The green movement must become a mass movement in green consumption.” To achieve this goal, Leahy argued, “we must empower everyone — not just the enlightened or the affluent”. He believed that the market was ready for this green consumer revolution, and his proposed solution was to break down the barriers of price and information by making green choices affordable and giving the consumer the right information to make informed decisions.

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  1. Geoffrey Beattie is in the School of Psychological Sciences and the Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK,

    Geoffrey Beattie

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  1. Geoffrey Beattie
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Correspondence to Geoffrey Beattie.

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Beattie, G. Psychological effectiveness of carbon labelling. Nature Clim Change 2, 214–217 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1468

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