The problems with ‘carbon negative’ claims

Just Food | ‘Carbon negative’ claims are emerging as a new trend, bringing with it risks of greenwashing. Quantis’ Global Food + Beverage Lead Charlotte Bande was interviewed for an article highlighting the credibility problems with such claims, in which she explains: “A product cannot be carbon neutral or negative based on offsetting schemes. Even the most sustainable product still causes emissions.”

So how can companies communicate impacts while avoiding the pitfalls of greenwashing? “Bande advises her clients at Quantis to refer not to insets but ‘reductions and removals in the value chain’. The whole area of carbon sequestration – the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide – is a can of worms, she suggests.”