Quorn, the biggest meat alternative brand in the world, is introducing carbon footprint data for its top 30 selling products.

The new labelling will better inform people who want to understand the environmental impact of the foods they buy and their food’s impact on climate change.

‘Farm to Shop’ carbon footprint data, certified by the Carbon Trust, will be available for its top sellers, which represent sixty percent of its product volume. Initially available on the Quorn website, the carbon footprint data will be rolled out onto packaging later in 2020.

Net zero

This marks the start of a new Quorn campaign as we enter a new decade that requires more focus on how food choices can impact climate change.

TV advertising launched this weekend, highlighting how easy it can be to make meals with products such as Quorn Mince as a “step in the right direction” when it comes to climate change, due to its low carbon footprint.

This comes at a time when 50 percent of consumers state they eat meat-free for environmental reasons, and 64 percent of consumers state that they want to reduce their carbon footprint to protect the planet for future generations (YouGov).

The carbon footprint labelling will feature on the British brand’s most popular and long-standing ranges, including Quorn Mince, Quorn Crispy Nuggets and Quorn Sausages plus innovations introduced recently in 2019, such as Quorn Fishless Fillets, Quorn Ultimate Burger and Quorn Wonder Grains. One hundred per cent of Quorn’s products are produced in the UK.

Quorn is the first meat-free food manufacturer in the world to take the leap and introduce third party carbon footprint accreditation via the Carbon Trust. Furthermore, the brand was the first food manufacturer to go through the Carbon Trust’s Climate Leadership Framework, to help Quorn identify a roadmap towards achieving net zero emissions.

Impact

In 2018 alone, Quorn Foods’ products enabled savings of 200,000 tonnes of CO2e compared to meat equivalents, with the greenhouse gas impact of mycoprotein, the unique protein in all Quorn products, being 90 percent lower than beef.

Speaking at the launch, a Quorn spokesperson said: “For over 30 years, we have been proudly delivering Healthy Protein for a Healthy Planet.

"Quorn is proven to provide significant health and environmental benefits and today we’re delighted we can offer carbon footprint data to our customers, whom we know are actively trying to find ways to reduce their impact on the planet.

“This is about giving people the information needed to make informed decisions about the food they eat and the effect it has on our planet’s climate – in the same way that nutrition information is clearly labelled to help inform decisions on health – and we’re asking other brands to get on board with us.

He added: “Currently no RDAs exist for carbon emissions, but we hope that if other food brands follow suit, we will be able to make better comparisons in our shopping baskets.”

Robust

Hugh Jones, Managing Director, the Carbon Trust, said: “We are really excited to be working with Quorn to certify their product carbon footprint data and help improve communication to its customers.

"It’s really important that consumers have robust information to help inform their purchases and we’re pleased to be able to work with Quorn on this.”

This Article

Brendan Montague is editor of The Ecologist. This article is based on a press release from Quorn.

Image: Angie Six, Flickr.