If I think about what shopping will be like in 20-30 years, I believe that in the same way we can scan a barcode and get a product’s nutritional information today, we’ll also be able to access the carbon intensity and environmental impact of a product.
This idea harks back to Economics 101 and the concept of externalities: every good or service has a price, but it may also have positive and/or negative consequences that aren’t accounted for in the price.
For example, when a bee keeper sells honey at the local farmers market, the price of the honey doesn’t include the positive externality of the bees pollinating local flora.
Conversely, the purchase and consumption of cigarettes leads to the negative externality of second hand smoking.
An environmental impact score is about making the externalities known, transparent, and easily accessible.
Perhaps it’ll be an environmental impact rating that sits right next to the price tag. Green for good. Red for bad. Or it’ll may be something a little more hidden; only accessible via the barcode—so it’s something only environmentally conscious consumers end up looking for.
There are many obstacles to such a system working—and many unknown unknowns I’m sure to miss—but one of the biggest challenges, in my mind, is an objective measure to quantify environmental impact.
It needs to factor in raw materials, where they’re from, how they were transported, how they were transformed into the final product; shipping, the ability for the product to be recycled or repurposed, whether or not the product is biodegradable, etc.
It’s complex data to collect and process, a complex idea to get companies to buy-in to, and complex to get consumers to understand quickly and easily.
Now take calories as a point of comparison. A calorie is simply the energy to raise 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius.
Measuring environmental impact is super nuanced, so it makes sense there isn’t a global measurement yet—or that the closest thing we have is probably the Fair Trade label; which has environmental protection built into its standards.
But, again, when I think about what shopping will be like in 20-30 years, I’m convinced there will be some global standard.
Perhaps therein lies the opportunity?
I’m sure some of you will have heard or read about a standard or measure in this space that’s trying to accomplish something similar. If yes, I’d love to hear about it!