University of Hamburg Business School
University of HamburgBusiness School
Study by the University of Hamburg, Kiel University (CAU), and the Kiel Institute for the World EconomyLabels Do Not Lead to More Sustainable Consumption in University Cafeterias
16 July 2026
Photo: UHH/Dingler
A recent study on climate, health, and animal welfare labels and their impact on consumption in university dining halls concludes that displaying these labels does not have the desired effect.
Climate, health, and animal welfare labels are intended to help consumers make more sustainable choices. A joint study titled “Limited and Unintended Effects of Climate, Health, and Animal Welfare Labels” by researchers at the University of Hamburg (Dr. Thomas Schreiner), the Institute of Business Administration (Dr. Amelie Griesoph, Prof. Dr. Stefan Hoffmann) and the Institute of Economics (Prof. Katrin Rehdanz) at Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (Dr. Christine Merk, Dr. Ulrich Schmidt) shows, however, that: In real-world decision-making situations, such labels have less impact than hoped for.
The study analyzed more than 1.7 million meal purchases at three university cafeterias over a three-year period. The results provide no evidence that labeled dishes were chosen more frequently. Their market shares either did not change significantly or, in some cases, even shifted in the opposite direction of what was intended. In their analysis, the researchers took into account, among other factors, prices, the overall popularity of the dishes, the general trend toward vegetarian options, and the alternatives available in each case.
Supplementary studies offer a possible explanation: While labeled dishes were spontaneously associated with better taste, health and animal welfare labels simultaneously raised expectations of higher prices. This could play a particularly important role in students’ everyday food choices.
Dr. Thomas Schreiner, a research assistant in the Professorship of Marketing and Customer Insight under Prof. Mark Heitmann, says: “What particularly appealed to me about this project was the opportunity to examine a measure that is considered promising in both policy and practice. This made the finding all the more intriguing: under real-world conditions, labels have a significantly smaller impact than is often assumed. For me, the study demonstrates how important it is to test measures designed to promote sustainable consumption under real-world conditions. This is precisely what we will continue to research in the future—in particular, which tools are actually suitable for effectively promoting sustainable consumption decisions.”
The study was funded by the Schleswig-Holstein Society for Energy & Climate Protection (EKSH) and conducted in cooperation with the Schleswig-Holstein Student Services Association. It was published in the journal *Ecological Economics*.
