Key points
- Purchased ingredients typically dominate the footprint calculation.
- Data quality depends on routine capture, not on annual reconstruction.
- Origin resolution materially changes the calculated result.
What data is needed
Ingredient volumes by type, origin and supplier; transport modes and distances; and, where available, supplier-specific emission factors. Generic averages are acceptable starting points but produce results that cannot be improved deliberately.
Building it into normal operations
Capture origin and supplier identity at goods receipt so reporting is a query rather than an annual data-gathering project. Retrospective reconstruction is expensive and produces figures that cannot be audited confidently.
What to verify
- Origin and supplier recorded at goods receipt for every lot
- Transport mode and distance captured per shipment
- Emission factor sources documented and dated
Risks to manage
- Reported figures that cannot be substantiated on audit
- Origin-level data missing, forcing conservative default assumptions
- Reporting boundaries changing between periods without disclosure
Common mistakes
- Treating reporting as a year-end exercise
- Using generic factors where supplier-specific data is obtainable
- Changing methodology without documenting the change
Frequently asked questions
Why does ingredient origin matter so much?
Production systems and land-use histories differ substantially by origin, so the same ingredient can carry very different footprints depending on where it was produced.
What is the highest-value first step?
Recording origin and supplier reliably at goods receipt. Every subsequent calculation depends on it.
Related reading
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