RAISIO'S ELOVENA SNACK DRINK BECAME CO2-LABELLED
Raisio plc Press release 2 March 2009
RAISIO'S ELOVENA SNACK DRINK BECAME CO2-LABELLED The Elovena snack drink Sunny is now equipped with a label describing its carbon dioxide emissions. Consumers want practical information on the composition of their CO2 footprints, and in response to this need, Raisio has developed the CO2 label. As the first Finnish food product, the Elovena oat flakes have been CO2-labelled since April 2008, and Raisio will expand the range of CO2-labelled products in 2009. The carbon dioxide labelling is an evidence of Raisio's strategy of being a forerunner and specialist in ecological, plant-based nutrition. As an innovative company Raisio is in a very good position to meet the new challenges set for the food industry by environmentally aware consumers. Elovena snack drink is an environmentally friendly food product Elovena snack drink Sunny's carbon dioxide emissions total 95 grams per 100 grams of product. This rate covers the product's entire life cycle in Finland, from cultivation through processing to the store warehouses. This is quite a low emission rate, so that the plant-based Elovena snack drink Sunny is an environmentally friendly food product. The equivalent carbon dioxide of Elovena snack drink Aurinkoinen, i.e. its total impact on global warming, is 130 g/100 g of product. The first CO2-labelled Elovena drinks became available in Finnish stores in February 2009. The CO2-labelling arouses interest ”Raisio's CO2 label has generated a great deal of interest and talk among consumers and decision-makers. We implemented the label in response to the growing need for information and the increasingly spreading lifestyle change trend. There is a growing tendency in Finland, and elsewhere in Europe, to consider luxury to mean things that create mental and physical well-being. Plant-based nutrition is part of this trend,” says Matti Rihko, CEO of Raisio. Indicator freely available ”Food accounts for one-third of the environmental impacts of households, which is equal to that of housing or traffic. We believe that in the near future, CO2 emissions labelling will grow more common on food packages alongside the price and nutritional content labels already in use,” Rihko predicts. The calculation model used in the indicator is based on lifecycle analysis conducted by MTT Agrifood Research Finland. The indicator can be compared to the Linux computer operating system - all those who want to, can use it if they observe the scope required by the indicator in emissions labelling. Raisio continues to develop the labelling system further. For more information about food and the climate to support your choices, see www.ekologia.fi. Further information: Heidi Hirvonen, Communications Manager, Raisio plc tel. +358 50 567 3060 Pirjo Alho-Lehto, Product Development Director, Food Division, Raisio plc, tel. +358 500 305 901 Pictures: You can download ready-to-print pictures from our materials bank at http://raisio.materials.fi under heading Elovena.