Abstract
To build sustainable food systems, it is essential to raise awareness among various stakeholders in food systems, including consumers, by communicating producers’efforts to reduce environmental burden in an easy-to-understand manner.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan （MAFF） developed a simple calculation tool, for 23 products （e.g. rice, vegetables, fruits）, for calculating greenhouse gas （GHG） emissions from production using farming data. Then, MAFF developed guidelines and formally launched “Visualization” labelling scheme in March 2024. The iconic label of the scheme is designed to clearly indicate the degree of producers’ environmental burden reduction efforts, presenting one to three stars on it, according to calculation tool results. For rice, biodiversity conservation efforts can also be indicated. For GHG calculation, in addition to current 23 products, developing the tool also for livestock products is being considered.
For food systems as a whole, according to discussions in a public-private conference, guidelines for food-related entities calculating their carbon footprint of products （CFP） and a relevant guidance were published. Currently, a pilot project has been conducted to test the two documents and to locate where to improve in order for them to be practical guides for various entities including Small and Medium-sized Entities.
