Harmonizing ecolabelling on food products across Europe
The mission of the Eco Food Choice project is to develop and harmonise environmental labelling for food products across Europe by 2027. This project is funded by the European Union's LIFE programme.
The project is structured around three technical components:
- Databases: creation of robust European inventories of the life cycle of food products.
- Methods and tools: development of a standardised method for aggregating environmental impacts into a single score.
- Real-world testing: trialling labelling in supermarkets, canteens and online platforms in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.
The project also aims to open a framework for dialogue with European public actors, businesses, distributors, researchers and NGOs in order to move collectively towards a methodology recognised by the European Commission by 2027.
The Eco Food Choice project partners
The LIFE ECO FOOD CHOICE project brings together nine organisations in France, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands with complementary expertise: agricultural production, environmental impact data, life cycle assessment (LCA) and consumer science.
Linking with the French labelling project
The Eco Food Choice project is coordinated by ADEME to develop a common methodological basis for the environmental assessment of food products in Europe. At the same time, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and ADEME are rolling out a method for calculating the ‘environmental cost’ in France, supported by the Ecobalyse tool, an operational solution adapted to the national market. ADEME plays an essential bridging role by participating in these two complementary and methodologically similar initiatives. France is thus moving forward as a pilot country at the national level with a short-term operational system, while contributing to the discussion at the European level with a view to medium-term harmonisation.
Recent updates
Discover the beta version of the Eco Food Choice methodology
This methodology aims at harmonising agri-food eco-labelling in Europe.
It provides comprehensive guidance, from database development using the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) method to the calculation of the aggregated environmental score. This methodology builds on the PEF (Product Environmental Footprint) framework while addressing its main limitations and introducing pragmatic improvements.
It is open for public consultation until 10 October. Stakeholders and interested parties from the food sector and the sustainability community are invited to share their comments. Their contributions will help define the final methodology, which will be published in November 2026.
Interested in participating?
- Access the document here
- Download the feedback form here (to be returned completed to [email protected], with the subject line ‘Public Consultation Eco Food Choice Beta’) by 10 October 2025 at 11:59 p.m.
- Join our live Q&A session on 2 October, from 11:00 to 12:00 CEST. This will be a technical conversation about the methodology, with very little presentation time. Participants are invited to read the methodology and prepare their questions in advance. Register here.
Watch the second webinar of the LIFE Eco Food Choice project!
On the agenda:
- Project updates & next steps: A progress update on the LIFE Eco Food Choice project.
- Overview of eco-labelling & future outlook: As part of the project, Wageningen University & Research released a comparative report on the 16 most relevant LCA-based eco-labels in Europe, assessed across 40 criteria. Discover key findings presented by the expert Koen Boone, European Director at The Sustainability Consortium at Wageningen University & Research.
- Interactive Q&A: A live session with audience questions and expert responses. You can consult the Q&A report here.
Our previous webinars
April 18, 2024: Introduction to the Eco Food Choice Project
Deliverables
- November 2024: Rapport sur l'état de l'art de l'éco-étiquetage en Europe
- January 2025: Méthodologie sur l'extrapolation des données ACV