FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

February 21st. All users will be notified in-app prior to the update, at least one week in advance.

Klimato is committed to delivering best-in-class data grounded in the latest research. To achieve this, we continuously update our source values and refine our methodology, ensuring we provide the level of granularity our customers expect when assessing different food products.

In the upcoming update, we’ll incorporate new peer-reviewed studies, origins, and organic values into our emission factors. We’ll also update how Land Use Change (LUC) is calculated to align with the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) FLAG (Forest, Land, and Agriculture) emissions requirements. Additionally, we’ll harmonize and streamline our dataset for generic food products—those with unknown origins. Leveraging robust research, we’re introducing new “Global Average” values to replace the current “Unknown” category. These Global Average values will remain weighted averages based on global production, but with the inclusion of more ingredient origins, they offer significantly improved precision.

The carbon footprint values for the majority of Klimato’s products will be updated. Additionally, the number of ingredients in our database will nearly double, providing many opportunities to select more specific and accurate products for your recipes. While some carbon footprints will increase, others will decrease. Once the new database version is finalized, Klimato will conduct studies and benchmarking to evaluate its performance. Upon release, we’ll share key statistics to highlight any food groups or origins that have been most significantly impacted.

Upon release, all recipes will be automatically updated and recalculated using the latest carbon footprint data for the ingredients—no manual action required!

Menus will not be automatically updated. Changes to recipes included in a menu will only appear on the menu if you manually sync the data, which can be done in the menu editor under Details. There’s no requirement to update all menus immediately—feel free to incorporate the latest Klimato values during your next scheduled update.

Sales and procurement reports will not be automatically updated. Changes to recipes or menus included in a report will only appear if the report is regenerated by selecting “Next step” in the data entry step.

If you wish to preserve a report as a snapshot of a previous time period, avoid updating it. For instance, if recipes have been modified by adding or removing ingredients, regenerating the report will no longer reflect the original recipe as it existed at that time.

To ensure consistent year-on-year comparisons, it’s essential to use the same data. You have two options: regenerate previous years' reports automatically by selecting “Update report” in the data entry step, or create a new report based on the latest data.

This is important especially if you are using the procurement reports to report in accordance with the GHG Protocol. According to the GHG Protocol, “companies shall develop a base year emissions recalculation policy, and clearly articulate the basis and context for any recalculations. If applicable, the policy shall state any “significance threshold” applied for deciding on historic emissions recalculation” (GHG Protocol, A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. Chapter 5). Therefore, depending on the policy a company has set, the baseline may be recalculated for both GHG emissions increases and decreases.

While "Global Average" values remain weighted averages based on global production (similar to the previous "Unknown" value), the inclusion of a greater variety of ingredient origins has significantly refined these averages. To enhance clarity, the value’s name will also be updated from "Unknown" to "Global Average."

This value is calculated using the weighted average of emission data from the top-producing countries for each ingredient. It is supported by peer-reviewed scientific literature on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) data and global production shares from FAOSTAT for all ingredients available in the Klimato application.

Something else that has been updated is the nutritional information. The values have been reviewed to align with government led databases such as Livsmedelsverket in Sweden, CoFID (Composition of foods integrated dataset) in the UK, and the ANSES-CIQUAL Food Composition Table in France. Values will be automatically updated in recipes as for the carbon footprint values.

To provide transparency on how ingredients have changed, Klimato will share statistics and highlight general trends for food groups that have undergone significant updates.

Yes, specific food categories are more affected than others due to variations in ingredient-level carbon footprint (CF) data.

For instance, herbs and spices and sugars and sweeteners have seen some of the highest percentage increases. However, since they are typically used in small amounts, their overall impact on recipes remains limited.

Meanwhile, fish and shellfish have experienced some of the most significant CF increases, in some cases by several hundred percent. This is due to several factors, such as data limitations, improved data quality, variability within species, and precautionary approach. 

These updates reflect the latest scientific findings and methodology refinements, ensuring that CF values remain as accurate and responsible as possible.

We always aim to stay updated with the latest research and climate values but country-specific values may not always be available. This is a limitation of the literature available which is improving over time. If you can’t find the correct country of origin we suggest you choose “Global average”, which represents the climate impact of an ingredient based on the weighted average of emission data available for the top-producing countries of said ingredient.

Sometimes it can be difficult to know where your ingredients are from and how they have been produced. For these cases, we suggest you choose “Global average, Conventional”, which represents the climate impact of an ingredient based on the weighted average of emission data available for the top-producing countries of said ingredient.

Menus will not be automatically synced if you duplicate a menu. It will look exactly the same as the menu you have copied. You therefore need to manually sync the data, which can be done in the menu editor under Details. There’s no requirement to update all menus immediately—feel free to incorporate the latest Klimato values during your next scheduled update.