Foodsteps Expands Sustainability Database to 147 Countries

Paul ArnottPaul Arnott
By
Paul Arnott
January 30, 2025
Updates
January 30, 2025
{1} min read

At Foodsteps, we’re committed to providing food businesses with accurate, comprehensive data - wherever their suppliers, customers, or operations are located. To deliver precise environmental insights across global supply chains, we’ve expanded our database to 147 countries and enhanced the quality of our data.

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Key updates snapshot

  • Expanded country coverage: Now includes data for 147 countries, providing more localised insights.
  • Improved supply chain modelling for processed ingredients that are sourced and processed in different regions.
  • Enhanced data quality for key ingredients like venison, sea bass, Atlantic salmon, and beef.
  • More accurate data for liquids like sauces and drinks.

Why is having accurate data so crucial for food businesses?

Food businesses face increasing scrutiny over their environmental impact—particularly Scope 3 emissions, which account for up to 95% of their carbon footprint. Stringent regulations, like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), now require many businesses to report on these emissions with meticulous detail, demanding absolute clarity across their value chain.

But gathering this data is incredibly challenging, especially as the footprint of an organisation grows and its supply chain becomes larger and more complex. Many businesses, including up to 70% of UK food companies, struggle to accurately track the carbon footprint of their supply chains. Therefore, they must rely solely on secondary data or generic emissions factors, creating an incomplete and inaccurate picture. 

By expanding our data to 147 countries, we’re giving food businesses access to highly localised insights, making it easier to measure the true environmental impact across energy use, transport emissions, packaging, and more—specific to the countries where their food is sourced, processed, cooked or consumed. 

With this data, food businesses can confidently identify key areas for emissions reduction, track progress toward their sustainability goals, and credibly report their impact to customers, consumers and regulators. 

Other database updates

We constantly update our database to incorporate the most accurate and up-to-date research available. As well as expanding our database coverage, we’ve improved the quality of data across these key areas:

  • Improved supply chain insights: This update allows for more precise modelling of ingredients processed in one country and sourced from another, giving you a clearer view of the environmental impact at each stage of the supply chain.
  • Enhanced local emissions factors: We’ve added more precise data for energy production, storage, transport, and cooking in different countries. This helps you better understand the emissions tied to your food, based on where it’s produced, stored, or consumed.
  • More data on key ingredients: We’ve incorporated up-to-date, region-specific data on venison, fish farming (sea bass, Atlantic salmon), and beef production, reflecting the latest production practices.
  • Better liquid insights: This update also includes new data for liquids like sauces and drinks, allowing for more accurate calculations based on volume.

Simplify Scope 3 reporting with Foodsteps’ industry-leading data and expert guidance

Foodsteps Scope 3 Assessments are comprehensive analyses of your supply chain, which you can rely on to rigorously and affordably measure and report your Scope 3 emissions and drive decarbonisation.

To learn more, download our Scope 3 methodology white paper or speak to one of our experts to see Foodsteps in action.