“In January 2023, the European federation of organic agriculture (IFOAM ORGANICS EUROPE) and its French members (IFOAM FRANCE) brought legal action before the Paris Judicial Court as well as an appeal before the INPI (National Institute of Intellectual Property) against the indicator of environmental impact “ECO-SCORE”.

Following a mediation, first judicial and then conventional, the parties reached an agreement putting an end to these legal procedures.

This agreement provides in particular that:

• As public authorities are moving towards another name to designate the environmental labelling system, ADEME will withdraw the word mark “ECO SCORE” for the food and agri-food sector at the INPI.
• YUKA and ECO2 Initiative renounce, also by December 31, 2024 at the latest, for their environmental impact indicator of food products, to designs and models containing the term “ECO-SCORE” registered at European level.

IFOAM ORGANICS EUROPE, IFOAM FRANCE, YUKA, Eco2 Initiative, Open Food Facts and ADEME indicate that they agree on:

• the importance of providing consumers with reliable and transparent information on the environmental impact of food products in order to help them make more responsible and sustainable choices;
• the essential role of organic agriculture and agroecology for the agricultural and food transition;
• the need to promote new eating habits and to work at the same time, in particular, on:
  • moving towards a quality agriculture that is more respectful of the environment,
  • an agriculture limiting its impacts on climate change,
  • an agriculture that preserves biodiversity,
  • reducing the use of pesticides,
  • the reduction of the meat portion in our diet, in a logic of “less but better” allowing us to favor meat from the most sustainable farms, such as extensive farms under labels,
  • reducing pressure on marine resources,
  • respect for the seasons for fruits and vegetables,
  • reducing the transport of foodstuffs and promoting local production,
  • reduction of polluting packaging waste,
• the difficulty of waging these various battles simultaneously and the need for collaboration between all the actors working for the transition of the food system, of which they are a part.»

Source: Ifoam Organics Europe