Using labels to support climate-friendly lunch purchases – An in-store study

Abstract

This study investigates how climate impact information influences consumers’ in-store decision-making. To increase our understanding of consumer behaviour in relation to food choices and environmental impact, further research is needed to explore how consumers act in real-life settings rather than their intended behaviours. We conducted a real-life experiment in a food retail setting, where we studied the impact of carbon footprint labels on consumer choice. To do this, we used qualitative and quantitative methods, and applied the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behaviour (COM-B) model to frame consumer behaviour. We found that the labels did provide consumers with increased capability and opportunity to make more climate-friendly food choices, but they failed to trigger consumer motivation to choose these options. To enhance motivation, there may be a need to implement other forms of interventions alongside labels. However, labels can continue to increase knowledge about the environmental impact of food products and pave the way for additional behavioural change initiatives. Our study also provides insights into how collaborating with private retailers on research projects can influence study design. These insights could be useful to those aiming to conduct similar studies.