The program finds its roots in John Higginson and Laura Dzelzyte’s ‘eco-pricing’ initiative conceived in 2000. It is based on the idea that every product has two prices: monetary and the one paid by the environment.

Green Index started as a simple label from 1 to 100 (or red to green) that indicates how green the product is, by taking into account three main factors: production, packaging and transportation of the product. Where 1 (red) is extremely environmentally unfriendly product 100 (green) is an ecological product. It is based on a score system that is very easy for consumers to understand, whilst behind the scenes calculations on what goes into the final number is constantly evolving as our knowledge on the human effect on the environment grows and as technical advances make manufacturing more environmentally friendly.

Green Index aims to increase environmental awareness enabling consumers to choose greener products as well as to provide businesses with the tool of assessment, reporting and improving their practices.

The goal is to trigger a ‘virtuous cycle’ of sustainable manufacturing and consuming.

In the light of growing ethical consumption businesses are given a financial incentive to find ecologically sustainable means of production, packaging and transportation to score better on Green Index, benefiting from increased sales and sustainable accountability for their practices.

A small independent team is working to provide sustainability insights and solutions focusing on broader sustainability issues of consumption through partnership with producers, the transport industry, retailers and government.