Food and beverage companies face a distinctive footprint: agricultural inputs typically account for 60–90% of total emissions, refrigerants and cold-chain add materially, and land-use change from commodities like beef, soy and palm can rival direct emissions. The relevant standards are the GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Guidance and the SBTi FLAG (Forest, Land and Agriculture) Guidance.
The footprint shape
- Scope 1 — refrigerants, boilers, on-site combustion, owned vehicles.
- Scope 2 — plant electricity, refrigeration, packaging lines.
- Scope 3 — dominated by category 1 (agricultural raw materials), plus category 4/9 (cold-chain transport), 11 (use — e.g. cooking), 12 (end-of-life packaging).
FLAG emissions
For companies with material land-based emissions (typically >20% of the footprint), SBTi requires a separate FLAG target in addition to the energy/industry target. FLAG covers:
- Land-use change (LUC) — deforestation risk in beef, soy, palm, cocoa, coffee, dairy, timber.
- Land management — soil, fertiliser, enteric fermentation.
- Removals — soil carbon sequestration.
Refrigerants
Cold-chain-heavy businesses can have Scope 1 dominated by refrigerant leakage. HFC-404A has a GWP of ~3,922. Transition to low-GWP alternatives (CO₂, ammonia, propane, R-448A) is a high-impact lever.
Measurement approach
- Raw materials — commodity-level emission factors (e.g. Poore & Nemecek 2018 or Agribalyse); move to supplier-specific where feasible.
- LUC — apply commodity- and origin-specific LUC factors (e.g. Quantis LUC tool, PEF).
- Refrigerants — actual recharge quantities × GWP.
- Cold-chain transport — ISO 14083 with refrigeration uplift.
Reduction levers
- Sourcing — deforestation-free commodities (EUDR-compliant), regenerative agriculture, alternative proteins.
- Formulation — recipe adjustments to reduce high-carbon ingredients.
- Refrigerant transition — natural refrigerants, leak detection.
- Packaging — lightweighting, recycled content, redesign.
- Energy efficiency in plants and DCs.
Regulatory context
- EUDR (EU Deforestation Regulation) — due diligence on seven commodities.
- CSRD/ESRS E1 — full inventory including FLAG.
- EU packaging regulation (PPWR) — packaging design and recycled content requirements.
Related reading: Scope 3 emissions explained, Decarbonisation strategy guide.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need a FLAG target?+
Under SBTi, yes if FLAG emissions are >20% of the total footprint. Common in dairy, meat, beverages with sugar, and packaged foods with palm/soy content.
How do we treat land-use change for palm oil?+
Apply the Quantis LUC statistical approach (or an equivalent recognised method), differentiated by origin. Certified deforestation-free (RSPO NDPE) reduces but does not eliminate LUC.
Is regenerative agriculture credited?+
Soil carbon removals can be reported separately under GHG Protocol land-sector guidance, subject to permanence and additionality tests. Not netted against gross emissions.
This article follows Redigo Carbon's editorial standards: factual claims reference recognised frameworks — GHG Protocol, CSRD, ESRS, the Sustainability-Linked Loan Principles, the Green Loan Principles — and Redigo's opinions are labelled as such.
What this article is based on.
- GHG Protocol — Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard — GHG Protocol
- GHG Protocol — Scope 2 Guidance — GHG Protocol
- GHG Protocol — Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard — GHG Protocol
- ISO 14064-1 — Corporate greenhouse gas inventories — ISO
- Sustainability-Linked Loan Principles (LMA / APLMA / LSTA) — LMA / APLMA / LSTA
- IEA — World Energy Outlook & sectoral net-zero scenarios — International Energy Agency
Redigo Carbon distinguishes between regulatory requirements, industry standards, best practice and Redigo's own recommendations. See our editorial standards for how we research, cite and update this content.
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