ecoSwitch
ecoSwitch
The ecoSwitch app provides Australian consumers a way of understanding the greenhouse impact of Australian packaged foods and to choose alternatives to switch to that are less harmful to our planet. The app also displays expanded data on a product that includes sustainability-related information such as its country of origin information; level of processing using the NOVA classification; and sustainability claims, as well as its health and nutrition information.
The EcoSwitch app is available in Australia:
ecoSwitch Australia - [Android] [iOS]
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Planetary Health
Planetary Health can be defined as “the health of human civilization and the natural systems on which it depends” and recognizes that human health and the health of our planet are inextricably linked. The global food system is estimated to generate 30%-40% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe) and is a key contributor to climate change. The Eat-Lancet commission on Food, Planet, Health cited food as “the single strongest lever to optimize human health and environmental sustainability on Earth”
Image : Eat Lancet Commission report
To fulfil our vision of an optimised food system for human health and the health of our planet, we have developed a ‘Planetary Health Rating’ scheme to estimate the GHGe associated with different packaged foods. Our aim is to help consumers make more informed choices about the foods based on their climate impact by providing a product-specific rating and subsequently a ‘Switch’ that suggests alternative products that have a lower climate impact.
Our approach assigns a GHGe estimate to individual food and beverage products in five steps. Step 1 employs a mathematical technique to estimate the quantity of each of ingredient in a product using its ingredient list and nutrient information. In step 2, Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) data are used to provide estimates of the amount of GHGe associated with different Australian ingredients. In Step 3, these LCA data are applied to the ingredient breakdowns in Step 1 and then adjusted to include rough modifications for processing and transport to create individual GHGe scores for each item. In Step 4, the range of scores are used to create a Planetary Health Rating system from 0.5 stars to 5.0 stars. Finally, in Step 5, each item gets a star rating based on its GHGe score.
The Rating scheme
Understanding the environmental impact of packaged foods
We are developing a system to understand and promote more sustainable foods. We are developing environmental impact data to help organisations with their Scope 3 emissions reporting, and Planetary Health Ratings to direct consumer towards more sustainable food choices via the ecoSwitch app.
Click on the button below to see the beta version of our Planetary Health data.
FAQs
ecoSwitch will give you the Planetary Health Rating of packaged foods and identifies alternatives to switch to that are less harmful to our planet and at least as healthy for personal health based on the Health Star Rating. Detailed data on a product can easily be accessed by clicking on the scanned product of any of the suggested better choices. The data shown includes sustainability-related information such as its country-of-origin information; level of processing using the NOVA classification; and sustainability claims, as well as its health and nutrition information. You can access this through the app by scanning the product barcode using your smartphone camera.
EcoSwitch identifies alternative products that are similar to the scanned item but are better for our planet based on their planetary health score and are at least as a healthy for personal health based on the Health Star Rating (HSR).
ecoSwitch combines data on individual food items held in our FoodSwitch data with Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) data that estimates the carbon impact of the food’s ingredient and processing to the farm gate.
Download ecoSwitch from either the Apple App Store or Google Play store using your mobile device.
The app is free of charge. An internet connection (mobile data or Wi-Fi) is required to download it. Standard usage charges may apply if using mobile data – check with your internet and mobile service providers for more information.
ecoSwitch is currently only available in Australia.