Rota articulated Migros' strategic shift from relying on category averages to embracing ingredient-level impact assessment. This pivotal decision stemmed from Migros' commitment to comprehensively understanding and mitigating the environmental footprint of its thousands of products. Migros has long been recognized as a trailblazer in sustainability efforts, evident from their introduction of the M-check label in 2016. The M-check label employs a five-point scale to evaluate Migros' own-brand products across key sustainability metrics, including climate impact, animal welfare, environmentally friendly packaging, responsibly sourced fish, and recyclability. This transparent rating system empowers consumers by providing clear insights into each product's sustainability performance relative to the broader range.

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When rolling out M-Check in 2016, Migros relied on average generic emissions factors at the category level to calculate the M-check rating. This meant that every dipping sauce had the same rating, regardless of whether it was fully plant-based or included cream. Although this approach was sufficient for establishing baseline emissions and complying with reporting standards such as SBTi or CSDR guidelines without too much hassle and in a short period, it also had a major drawback: retailers lacked actionable insights and were not able to conduct emissions reduction efforts. Recognizing this limitation, Migros decided to partner with inoqo to conduct product-specific assessments that take the composition of the product into account, enabling them to spot emissions hotspots at the product level and take measures to drive down their scope 3 emissions. This strategic step underscores Migros' unwavering commitment to sustainability and sets a precedent for the industry to adopt more holistic and impactful approaches to environmental stewardship.‍

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