November 2022

The Beelong Eco-score lands in Coop

Beelong Eco-Score

Lausanne company Beelong has made it easier than ever for shoppers to make informed and environmentally sound decisions about the foods they buy. Their system, run by 15 staff members, has already analysed more than 150,000 food products and categorised them based on their eco credentials. Now Beelong’s carefully developed Eco-score, based on the environmental impact of food, has been applied to over 2,000 Coop products online, and will soon also be available on food packaging in store.

The Beelong Eco-score – developed by the Vaud startup of the same name – evaluates the impact of products on the environment. By using a uniform set of criteria, the classification system is designed to simplify the shopping process for eco-conscious consumers who want to make the best possible choices for the planet. Now available on more than 2,000 own-brand goods on the Coop website, consumers can use the simple scale, which runs from a maximum of A+ to a low of E-, to make informed purchasing decisions. 

Previously, the implementation of eco labels in supermarkets has been hampered by a lack of reliable information. “There’s a lot of information available on food products, but it’s not displayed in a uniform way,” says cofounder Charlotte de La Baume. “With different labels for each product, it has historically been very difficult to compare them. The Beelong Eco-score makes it possible to compare all food products on the same basis, while enhancing existing labels.” Beelong’s joint cofounder Mathias Faigaux added: “Because Beelong evaluates all products using the same scale regardless of their category, our system enables the comparison of both similar products with one another, and the comparison of products from totally different categories.”

Analysing multiple criteria 

Using a reliable and stringent method of analysis – which is constantly evolving and updated by Beelong’s experts in real time – the Eco-score evaluates multiple criteria related to a food’s ingredients: from the carbon emitted in their cultivation and transport to a crop’s water usage. Other criteria include the quality of the soil a crop is grown in and/or the welfare of animals involved in its manufacture, alongside many more. Further criteria are then applied to the finished product – these vary from the impact of the packaging to the sustainability policy of the processing company.

A turning point for Beelong

The introduction of the Eco-score at Coop brings Beelong new visibility, a boost for the Swiss company founded in Lausanne eight years ago. Beelong is already well established with professionals in the Swiss catering and food ecosystem; the company works with around sixty partner brands, including Hero, Narimpex  and Ditzler, as well as with several hundred private and public restaurants. It also advises private companies, municipalities, cantons and the federal government on the development of sustainable food strategies. 

Visit the Beelong website to find out more, and view the Eco-scores currently online at coop.ch

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