LPDD Model Law: Federal or State Carbon Labeling Act

Carbon footprint product labels could influence consumers to make environmentally friendly choices without substantial effort on their part, by providing more information than the consumer has at present.

This model law, which is adaptable at either the federal or the state level, requires the implementation of a federal/state carbon labeling program, in which a participating manufacturer calculates the carbon footprint of its product by using the criteria developed or adopted by the federal/state government agency, and after having that calculation independently verified by a designated third-party nongovernment organization, has the relevant portions of that information, as determined by the agency, disclosed on a government-sponsored label directed to the public.

The model focuses on consumer products, which means any tangible personal property distributed in commerce and commonly used for personal, family, or household purposes.  It defines a product’s “carbon footprint” as the GHG emissions throughout a product’s life cycle, from raw materials through production, distribution, consumer use, and disposal/recycling.

This model was drafted by Cynthia J. Cho. Initial review was conducted by Scott W. Badenoch Jr., Visiting Attorney at the Environmental Law Institute, and Richard A. Horsch, and full peer review was provided by Michael Burger, Sabin Center Executive Director  and Senior Research Scholar and Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School.