Today's consumer is increasingly demanding regarding the sustainability of the products they consume. Aware of this, companies are making efforts to objectively demonstrate that their products have a reduced environmental impact. There is already a growing number of companies throughout Europe, especially those with an export vocation, which differentiate their products in the market with a lower Carbon Footprint than that of their competitors. Here you can know how to analyze the carbon of your company using carbon management software.


The Carbon Footprint is an environmental sustainability indicator that measures the impact in the form of greenhouse gas emissions that a product, service or activity generates throughout its life cycle. It is currently being incorporated into product labels as a discriminatory factor when choosing between different types of products and brands and, not only that, but for many food companies it is a requirement on the part of the customer, as is the case. of some British distribution companies that require it from their suppliers.


For this reason, although the initiative is still applied in few places, it is being interested in large brands. The first to join was Walkers, a British potato chip producer belonging to the multinational Pepsico. Walkers has begun to introduce into their potato bags the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that is emitted throughout the food chain, from when the potatoes are planted in the field until they reach the consumer.


The companies in the food sector, such as Heineken, Coviñas or Grupo Matarromera are working on strategies to reduce and offset the Carbon Footprint through studies on the management of greenhouse gas emissions at the company level.


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Calculation of the carbon footprint as a differentiating element of your products

For a food industry, the calculation of the carbon footprint is a first step on the path of responding to the demand that consumers and/or customers have in relation to climate change, and constitutes a differentiating element of its products with respect to the competition.


Food companies that start calculating their carbon footprint in their products commit to developing programs to reduce their emissions. Furthermore, since it is a product certification, it can be used on the label itself and therefore serves as direct communication between the producer and the consumer.


In a survey of 26,500 European citizens, 80% of them considered the environmental impact of products as the third criterion at the level of importance in their purchasing decisions, after quality and price. Carbon was identified as one of the most recognized environmental indicators.


Why measure the Carbon Footprint?

This indicator can be used as:


  • A management and communication tool for environmental sustainability: agri-food companies such as Coca-Cola, Consum, Bimbo, Pepsico, etc. they are already using the carbon footprint as an indicator within their sustainability policies.

  • One way to meet market demands: For example, some British and French distribution companies (Tesco, Walmart, Casino ...) begin to require their suppliers to calculate the carbon footprint of their products.

  • A factor of competitiveness and differentiation of the product/company: especially for companies with export activity to northern European markets, more environmentally aware.