The “2030 Calculator,” an open-source tool that allows companies to determine the carbon footprint of the products they make, won the Sustainable Development Goals Grand Prix on the final day of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
The “2030 Calculator,” an open-source tool that allows companies to determine the carbon footprint of the products they make, won the Sustainable Development Goals Grand Prix on the final day of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Created for Swedish tech brand Doconomy by Farm Stockholm, the calculator is intended as a first step toward carbon labeling of all products sold around the world, in “the same way that nutrition facts were a game changer decades ago,” said Jury President Eduardo Maruri, VP Global Creative Board and President/CEO Europe at Grey Worldwide, during a Cannes Lions Live debrief about the work.
“This is scalable, touches multiple Sustainable Development Goals and is a solution, not an awareness problem,” he added. “Now all we need is governments to demand products actually have it on the labels.”
Carbon labeling is an expensive proposition that requires tracing supply chains and accurately calculating carbon outputs for production, manufacturing, transportation and electric consumption. Even brands that might be inclined to label are hard-pressed to do so given the costs and time required. But the “2030 Calculator” is free and cuts the necessary time to minutes, utilizing a database of information gathered from more than 1,000 companies that have used the tool. Additional companies and products only add more data to refine its accuracy.
The Sustainable Development Goals Lion partnered with Parley for the Oceans to create the trophy out of reclaimed fishing nets, and the €271,505 collected as entry fees for the category will be donated to SDG projects managed by the United Nations.
The jury also awarded 12 Bronze Lions, four Silver Lions and two Gold Lions. “The Commitment,” for child development organization CCWD by VMLY&R Brazil, incentivized families in Malawi to delay marrying off their children.
And “Naming the Invisible,” for telecom Telenor by Ogilvy Pakistan, registered 1.2 million children who lacked birth certificates.