Food environmental labelling
Calculate, manage and display the food environmental cost of your products with FoodPilot
Are your buyers asking for environmental data at listing?
Le Environmental Cost, is the official French indicator defined by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition andADEME.
Ecobalyse is the public calculation tool, backed by the Agribalyse database.
FoodPilot calcule for free level 1 across your entire range, and lets you move up to levels 2 and 3, verified by Bureau Veritas and defensible to your buyers, auditors and NGOs.
The official framework at a glance
The Environmental Cost : France's official indicator France's official indicator
Definition
Food environmental labelling: far more than yet another score.
The official method aggregates 16 environmental indicators from the European PEF framework. The 2026 version adds biodiversity and ecosystem services measures that can count for up to 30% of the final score: hedges, permanent grassland, plot size, crop diversity. It is the first public food indicator that can show, in a consumer score, the concrete agroecological practices of producers. The result is expressed in impact points.The higher the score, the greater the impact.
Method
A public method: multi-criteria Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) adapted from the PEF framework.
The method applies the European framework Product Environmental Footprint, enriched with "ecosystem services" measures specific to the food sector. The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and ADEME run it. The open-source public tool that applies it is called Ecobalyse, built on the Agribalyse database..
Who is concerned?
Manufacturers, cooperatives, food brands
Food is the second sector after textiles to enter the framework. The manufacturers who supply retailers are the first concerned in practice. Wines and spirits will enter later, once their supply chains are covered.
Timeline
The framework is published, the rollout is underway.
Written into the Climate and Resilience Act of August 2021. Textile labelling has been live since October 2025. The CGDD and ADEME presented the 2026 food framework method on 13 May 2026. The first rollouts in large retail began in spring 2026. The general rollout will happen in stages, sector by sector, across 2026-2028.
Get ahead
Why act now?
Buyer presure
Your retailers are already asking for it
Large retail chains are gradually adding the Environmental Cost to their specifications and tenders, ahead of the legal requirement. The other chains will follow soon after. Tenders are gradually adding environmental data,and buyers increasingly tell the generic score apart from the documented, verified score. Manufacturers who arrive prepared, and seriously prepared, secure their listings and defend their margins.
A score that sets virtuous producers apart
Rewarding good practice
A manufacturer who has invested upstream may see those efforts ignored by the Level 1 score shown on the shelf: he gap with the real score can reach a factor of two. Without a defensible Level 2 or 3 on its strategic products, it has no way to defend that difference. Levels 2 and 3 (semi-specific and specific) bring in your supplier data, your farming practices and more. Our base of proprietary semi-specific data, more precise than Ecobalyse's generic data, completes the picture. A committed producer gets a food environmental cost that reflects its practices.
The score reveals your real eco-design levers
An operational lever
Calculating an official score reveals levers that a classic carbon footprint keeps hidden: the biodiversity impact of packaging, the virtual water in an ingredient, the land use of an origin, the ecosystem services of a farming practice. Your R&D teams, and your board too, set better priorities.
The FoodPilot edge:
Our method: the Environmental Cost 360°
The official Environmental Cost calculation, compliant.
Aligned with Ecobalyse
FoodPilot applies the food environmental labelling framework as the Ministry and ADEME define it. We calculate your results with Ecobalyse, so they compare with the scores other players publish.
The official score, free, across your whole portfolio
Level 1 for free
We calculate your official score on all your products for free , at Ecobalyse Level 1. You get your full starting point. After a setup phase with our teams, you explore your own results on the platform. You then decide whether to raise precision on certain product families (levels 2 and 3 available as an option).
Your supplier data, your practices, your results
Specific data, levels 2 and 3
Level 1 runs on generic data. At levels 2 and 3, we bring in your identified suppliers, your documented plots, your farming practices, plus your own industrial, livestock, packaging and logistics practices. The score reflects your real chain, and sets your virtuous practices apart from sector averages.
A score that holds up to third parties
Verified by Bureau Veritas
Bureau Veritas reviews our method. We verify and document your calculations at every step. You present your buyers, your auditors and the public a score that recognised third parties validate.
From snapshot to action
Simulation and trajectory
Simulate your eco-design scenarios: change an ingredient, an origin, a supplier, a packaging. Compare the levers, put a figure on the expected progress. Build a prioritised action plan that cuts impact while protecting your margin.
How does it work?
From Ecobalyse to your action plan in four steps.
1 • Get your score across your whole catalogue
We calculate your official score on all your products for free , at Ecobalyse Level 1. A short setup phase with our teams, then you reach your scored portfolio on the platform. You get your full starting point, and the order of magnitude of each impact area..
2 • Refine with your supplier and plot data
We replace generic data with yours: precise origins, identified suppliers, documented farming practices, real processes. Precision rises to levels 2 and 3 of the official framework. Your real chain appears in the score.
3 • Simulate your eco-design scenarios
Test another ingredient, another origin, another packaging. Compare the scores, find the high-impact levers with controlled cost, put a figure on the expected drop. Your R&D teams decide on numbers..
4 • Document and communicate
Produce your food environmental labelling sheets, your answers to retailer tenders, your CSR reports. Results you can check, trace and defend. A method documented at every step..
Proof
Our method rests on the official framework and recognised third parties.
Contributor to Ecobalyse and the public consultation
Aligned with the official framework
Positive Solutions has contributed to the Ecobalyse ingredient database and takes part in the Ministry's and ADEME's work to build the Environmental Cost method. France 2030 selected us for this contribution. Our scores are mechanically consistent with the official tool..
A method verified by Bureau Veritas
Third-party verification
EVEA and Carbone 4 review our calculations and our method. We also work with IFIP and Sayari (biodiversity references).
Twice a France 2030 winner!
Accessible to very small and mid-sized firms
France 2030 Occitanie selected our solution built for very small and mid-sized firms. Your cooperatives, your small members and your suppliers of every size can join the approach, without a disproportionate data-entry burden.
Support and labels
Institutional backing
Bpifrance gives us its DeepTech label. StartLife hosts us in its international agri incubator. Adelphe supports our rollout with trade bodies.
FAQ
Questions fréquentes.
What does your free offer include?
We calculate the Coût Environnemental of your entire catalogue at Ecobalyse level 1 free of charge, but ready to scale on our platform. A setup phase with our teams lets us connect your product database. You then reach your scores on our platform, with no commitment. You pay only if you decide to go further: bringing in your supplier data (levels 2 and 3), eco-design simulation, verification by Bureau Veritas, trajectory management, and more.
Is food environmental labelling already mandatory?
Not yet. The 2021 Climate and Resilience Act sets the principle. Textiles have been live since October 2025. The food framework is published, and E.Leclerc rolled the indicator out on 6,000 products in April 2026, ahead of the legal requirement. The general rollout will happen in stages across 2026-2027.
How does the Coût Environnemental 360° fit with Ecobalyse?
Ecobalyse is the open-source public tool that lets you test the calculation. Our method takes this official base, and adds the collection of your specific data (levels 2 and 3), eco-design simulation, trajectory management and documentation. Our scores stay consistent with Ecobalyse's.
Are your calculations verified?
Yes. Bureau Veritas reviews our method and our calculations. We document every data source, and you can trace every calculation step. You present your buyers, your auditors and the public a score that a recognised third party validates. This is a key point of difference for manufacturers whose buyers increasingly tell the generic score apart from the documented, verified score.
Is your data confidential?
Yes. Your data stays yours, hosted in France, not shared with third parties without your explicit agreement. Our teams sign contractual confidentiality commitments.
Can I display the score on my packaging?
Yes, as long as the calculation follows the official method. The Environmental Cost 360° produces the data and the traceability you need. How you then display environmental information on food packaging is for your regulatory team to handle.
How long to get a first score?
A few days for the free Level 1 calculation across your whole catalogue, after a short setup phase. From a few weeks to a few months for a precise score at levels 2 and 3, which brings in your supplier data and your practices, depending on how available your data is and how complex your chain is.
Choosing environmental labelling now means securing a strong competitive edge with retailers
A single demo is enough to see what FoodPilot brings to your supply chains, your teams and your buyers. We assess your starting point, identify the data available in your chain, and offer you a plan suited to your maturity and your timeline. If you would rather start with the free score on your catalogue, contact us directly.