“There are serious reservations regarding the method provided by the state government in terms of environmental labeling.

Lthe so-called The “green” display, developed as part of the July 2021 climate and sustainability law, should shed light on the current jungle of labels through certified points or “eco-points” affixed to each product or service, allowing the consumer to assess the environmental impact by avoiding the green traps.

But in the context of the reversal of European environmental public policy, the French public authorities may make hasty decisions in the coming weeks regarding the conditions of this environmental display. Indeed, the project of the official calculation method contradicts the part of French public studies, especially in systematic agronomy and ecology.

We are glad that the state implements this system of environmental display and provides a guarantee. However, behind a sticker indicating the impact of a pizza or a plane ride, the questions must be answered: How were these scores created? Who guarantees the reliability of the calculation? Is the reference reliable?

Activation of agriculture is justified

Quantifying the impact of our activities on the environment is not easy. This has not been done before and on such a large scale. However, at the current stage, numerous and serious reservations have been expressed regarding the method provided by the state authorities, both by scientists and the European Commission.

Among the variety of possibilities, it is the methodology known as “Life Cycle Analysis” (LCA) that is brought to the fore, in synergy with the environmental assessment work promoted by the organizers of the French experiment. European scale PEF (product). environmental footprint [méthode d’empreinte environnementale de produit]). This LCA-PEF methodological framework is reserved as a “solution” to the environmental scoring problem. It therefore serves as the reporting base in the government scoring simulator Ecobalyse.

The LCA-PEF method was promising for its standardization (it is ISO 14040 certified), which gave it an international reputation. But in the real situation, its testing revealed a pot aux roses: the points obtained for the products of the agricultural and textile sectors, which were shared during the 2021 French experiment, by many agronomists and ecologists (in addition to environmental associations and NGOs in French and European countries). scale).