For food businesses, the spotlight on carbon emissions, waste, and sourcing is only getting brighter. Whether you're chasing new contracts, reducing costs, or attracting eco-conscious customers, your sustainability data is becoming a business essential.
This guide breaks down sustainability reporting in the food industry without the fluff; just what you need to start measuring, managing, and communicating your climate impact with confidence.
What is Sustainability Reporting?
Sustainability reporting is the process of disclosing your business’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts. It’s not just about ticking boxes—it’s about cutting waste, saving money, and standing out in tenders. In the food sector, that often means tracking your carbon footprint, supply chain emissions, energy use, and food waste.
In food businesses, Scope 3 emissions typically account for 70–80% of total climate impact, largely driven by ingredient sourcing and logistics. If you’re not reporting them, you’re not seeing the full picture.
Key Elements of Sustainability Reporting for Food Businesses
1. Carbon Footprint Calculation
Before you can report, you need to know what you’re emitting. A carbon footprint calculator helps food businesses estimate emissions across ingredients, transportation, packaging, energy, and waste. The more granular, the better.
• Use a carbon footprint calculator tailored for food operations.
• Consider both direct emissions (Scope 1 & 2) and indirect ones (Scope 3).
• Base calculations on ingredient-level emissions using trusted databases. This lets you identify high-impact ingredients that are also low-margin, creating cost-saving opportunities while cutting emissions.
In practice, food businesses that calculate emissions at ingredient level often discover that their top three climate hotspots also overlap with low-margin menu items—creating a dual opportunity to cut costs and emissions.
2. Life Cycle and Scope 3 Assessment
Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) allow you to evaluate the environmental impact of a dish or product—from farm to fork. These assessments are the gold standard in Scope 3 reporting. Most food LCAs used for Scope 3 reporting are based on cradle-to-gate ingredient data combined with region-specific emission factors.
3. Carbon Labels and Communication
Sustainability reporting isn’t just for internal stakeholders. Public-facing communication, like carbon labels on menus, can build trust with customers and demonstrate climate leadership.
• Carbon labels should show the CO2e of a dish or product.
• Use a recognizable traffic-light or numeric system.
• Back it up with a consistent methodology and third-party verification where possible.
According to the EIT Food Trust Report, 67% of consumers want more transparency from food brands. Carbon emission labels are a practical step in that direction. They also help boost guest engagement and can increase sales of lower-emission, high-margin dishes.
4. Compliance with CSRD and Other Regulations
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is reshaping the way businesses report on non-financial data in Europe. If you’re operating in the EU, or supply to businesses that are, staying ahead of these standards can help you win business, avoid compliance risks, and build trust with partners.
• Familiarize yourself with CSRD reporting requirements.
• For food businesses, CSRD-aligned reporting typically requires traceable Scope 3 data, auditable calculation methods, and the ability to export standardized ESG metrics across business units.
• Future-proof your reporting by integrating ESG metrics into everyday decision-making.
How to Get Started
Step 1: Choose the Right Tools
Look for an emissions calculator or food sustainability platform that:
• Covers Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions
• Includes life cycle data on ingredients
• Supports automatic reporting and visualization
Klimato is purpose-built for food businesses and offers all of the above, as well as branded carbon labels and automatic reporting built for CSRD.
Step 2: Set a Baseline
You can’t improve what you haven’t measured. Start by calculating emissions from your best-selling dishes, energy use, and supplier transport. This becomes your baseline.
Step 3: Set Clear Goals
Whether it’s reducing dish-level emissions by 20%, sourcing 80% of ingredients locally, or cutting food waste in half, set measurable, time-bound goals.
Step 4: Start Reporting Regularly
Sustainability reporting shouldn’t be an annual panic. Build it into your monthly reporting cadence and track progress over time.
The Bottom Line
Sustainability reporting isn’t just about compliance. It’s about making your food business more transparent, efficient, and competitive. Whether you’re a restaurant group, hotel chain, or contract caterer, embedding sustainability into your operations is the key to long-term value.
FAQ: Sustainability Reporting for Food Businesses
Q: What is sustainability reporting in the food industry?
A: Sustainability reporting in the food industry involves measuring and disclosing a business’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts, with a strong focus on carbon emissions, food waste, energy use, and supply chain sourcing. For most food businesses, climate reporting centers on understanding emissions across ingredients, operations, and logistics.
Q: What emissions should food businesses report on?
A: Food businesses should report on Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions. While Scope 1 and 2 cover direct fuel and energy use, Scope 3 emissions often represent the majority of a food business’s climate impact and typically include ingredient sourcing, transportation, packaging, and waste.
Q: Why are Scope 3 emissions so important for food businesses?
A: In food businesses, Scope 3 emissions usually account for the largest share of total emissions because they include agricultural production, ingredient processing, and supply chain logistics. Without Scope 3 data, sustainability reporting provides an incomplete picture of a food business’s climate impact.
Q: How do food businesses calculate their carbon footprint?
A: Food businesses typically calculate their carbon footprint using emissions data from ingredients, energy use, transportation, packaging, and waste. The most accurate calculations are based on ingredient-level life cycle data rather than generic industry averages, allowing businesses to identify high-impact products and processes.
Q: What is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in food sustainability reporting?
A: A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) evaluates the environmental impact of a food product or dish across its entire life cycle, from raw material production to processing, transport, and disposal. LCAs are commonly used as the foundation for Scope 3 emissions reporting in the food industry.
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