Colruyt Group adopts new name change from Eco-score to Green-score: “Helping customers make better-informed choices about the environmental impact of their purchases”
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
From this autumn, the Eco-score will take on a new name: Green score. The now familiar letter-and-colour code gives consumers an accessible insight in the environmental impact of products. Colruyt Group, a pioneer of this environmental label since 2021, is joining the name change introduced by the French consortium that manages it. According to Colruyt Group, customers will hardly notice the change, except that the extended scale from A+ to F will give them even clearer information about the sustainability of their product choices.
Trust in label that works: now with fine-tuned scale
The Eco-score was developed in 2021 by a consortium of independent, French organisations, including Yuka, Open Food Facts and Eco2. The consortium changed the name to Green-score after the European organic association IFOAM had argued that the term "eco" could cause confusion with organic food in some countries.
Colruyt Group decided to follow the name change. “A matter of trust", says Veerle Poppe, responsible for Green-score at Colruyt Group. “We have been working with the French consortium since the early days of the Eco-score and we continue to believe in the value of the label. We see that it really works, here in Belgium too. With 51% brand awareness and 72% trust, the score is now the second best-known label in Belgium after Nutri-Score, as our own market research shows
The name change also brings a slight adjustment to the scale: it is now extended, including six colours and letters (instead of five). Veerle Poppe explains: “A dark red colour with letter F has been added for products with a poor Green-score. At the dark green side of the spectrum, a distinction is now made between A and A+, to identify products with the lowest environmental impact. This allows for even more differentiation between products”.
Informing, raising awareness and encouraging action
Since 2021, Colruyt Group has been the only truly Belgian retailer to apply the Eco-score on a large scale, helping customers understand and become more aware of the environmental impact of the products they buy in the group's food stores. At the same time, the retail group has used the score as a driver of behavioural change by linking it to a sustainable savings programme in the Xtra app, the Group’s loyalty programme.
“It will continue to work in exactly the same way as with the Eco-score: for each product our customers buy with a Green-score of A+ or A, they earn one point in the Xtra app," explains Veerle Poppe. “Customers can keep using their saved points to support Colruyt Group Foundation charities, earn free products or they can join a Colruyt Group Academy webinar on sustainable or healthy living. We strongly believe in the effect the programme has on consumer behaviour. With the Green-score as a lever, we'll even more We will use the Green-score as a lever to push this effort to the next level. So it is no longer just about informing and raising awareness, but increasingly about activating and inspiring behavioural change”.
Smooth transition
From 1 November, the Green-score will be introduced in the Xtra-app, on websites and in-store communications across the Group's different retail formats. By 31 October, all references to Eco-score will have been removed from these channels. During this transition period, Colruyt Group will launch an advertising campaign to facilitate the switch to the Green-score, introduce the new scale and remind customers of the sustainable savings programme.
The easy-to-understand letter-and-colour code currently appears on the packaging of 940 Boni products, and these will now gradually be updated to reflect the new name and scale - with a transition period of up to two years. Online too, where many more products display the score, the name will be adjusted across all platforms.
Colruyt Group expects customers will switch easily to the Green-score. Not only will the link to sustainable savings programme remain unchanged, but also the look of the label and the calculation method. “We assume our customers will quickly adopt the Green-score, since very little changes for them. And the only change we are making is designed to give customers even better information about the sustainable choices they make," says Veerle Poppe, referring to the improved scale.
Making conscious consumption choices easier
With its ease of use, the Green-score fits seamlessly into Colruyt Group's company philosophy. Veerle Poppe: "Environmental awareness has been a key pillar since the 1980s. The Green Line Charter we signed in 1990 was a historic milestone that laid the foundation for the broad sustainability policies we pursue today. A key part of this is making it as easy as possible for our customers to consume consciously. The Green-score is and will remain indispensable. Moreover, the Green-score is fully aligned with European regulations on transparency and sustainability. For these reasons, we have already invested heavily in media campaigns and international collaborations on the label in recent years. And we will continue to do so!”