HowGood, a sustainability intelligence platform boasting the world’s largest ingredient and product sustainability database, has announced a collaboration with Majid Al Futtaim, the operator of Carrefour in the UAE. The initiative aims to display HowGood’s research-backed impact labels on 2,500 food items across five stores, including a presence at COP28. The partnership also involves SES-imagotag, a global leader in digital solutions for physical commerce.
Starting from November 28, visitors to Carrefour stores at Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Deira, City Centre Mirdif, Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 3, and the COP28 store will have access to HowGood’s climate labels. These labels provide information on the environmental and social impact of food purchases, including product carbon footprints and comprehensive sustainability attributes.
The labels aim to address global concerns related to reducing the food industry’s impact on climate change. HowGood’s sustainability insights, based on over 33,000 food ingredients, offer granular data for sustainability storytelling that resonates with consumers. The digital shelf edge tags, provided by SES-imagotag, will be used to display the labels on 2,500 food products, enhancing visibility at points where consumers make purchasing decisions.
The three labels focus on key areas of sustainability concern:
- Product Carbon Footprint: A measure of the greenhouse gas emissions of a product from cradle-to-shelf.
- Comprehensive HowGood Sustainability Rating: Products are rated as “Best,” “Great,” or “Good” based on their social and environmental impact.
- Product Sustainability Attributes: Additional insights into areas such as water usage, greenhouse gas emissions, ingredient simplicity, minimal processing, and fair labor practices.
These labels have demonstrated success in guiding shoppers toward more sustainable choices. In a recent engagement in London with SES-imagotag, the use of HowGood attributes increased product sales on average by 25.8%, with the Fair Labor attribute alone showing a lift of 45.1%.
Ethan Soloviev, Chief Innovation Officer at HowGood, emphasized the significance of the partnership, stating, “With more than a third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions linked to the food system, food brands and retailers have an immense opportunity to drive transparency and empower more sustainable decision-making. Our launch at COP28 will be a clear signal of where the future of retail is headed with regard to sustainability.”
Sheila Chaiban, CMO at Majid Al Futtaim Retail, expressed excitement about the Choose Better program, stating, “Powered by HowGood’s product rating system and SES-imagotag’s smart labels, we’re excited to enable shoppers to find products that are better for the planet.”
Roy Horgan, SEVP Strategy, Marketing & Communications of SES-imagotag, highlighted the collaboration’s impact on consumers’ decisions, stating, “We are delighted to partner with HowGood and Majid Al Futtaim during COP28 to better influence Carrefour consumers’ decisions at the shelf-edge through sustainable information provided by our technologies.”
HowGood’s product labels for Sustainability Ratings, Attributes, and Carbon Footprint will be displayed at Carrefour’s COP28 store locations starting November 28 and will be live for the next three months, as well as in select Carrefour stores throughout the UAE.