LED 4 Food Releases Interim Reports With Product Footprinting Methodology Recommendations

The UK government has published four interim reports from the LED 4 Food project, including detailed recommendations on a best practice methodology to calculate product-level greenhouse gas (GHG) footprints.

LED 4 Food is a Defra-funded research programme led by WRAP focused on improving the quality, consistency, and accessibility of environmental impact data for food. By enabling more specific and consistent product-level footprints, the project aims to help businesses make informed decisions to reduce emissions — from procurement and reformulation to supplier engagement.

The newly released reports cover guidance on methodology, data harmonisation, and data accessibility — and are now publicly available via Defra’s Science Search website. Defra and WRAP are encouraging the industry to test the recommendations and provide feedback as they simultaneously pursue international harmonisation.

As a core contributor and steering group member, Foodsteps has played a key role in shaping the methodology and technical guidance now available. 

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What is the LED 4 Food project?

The science and evidence team at the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has commissioned the LED 4 Food project to support the Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP).

Co-ordinated by WRAP - a global environmental action NGO - this three-year project brings together experts from Oxford University, WWF, Foodsteps, and other industry and research partners to tackle some of the most urgent challenges in food sustainability data.

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Key Focus Areas of LED 4 Food

The LED 4 Food project aims to enhance environmental impact quantification in the agri-food sector by focusing on four key areas:

• Improving environmental impact data - Expanding and refining publicly available datasets and industry-wide benchmarks for agricultural and food products.
• Harmonising data formats – Standardising impact data to improve usability and data-sharing across platforms.
• Improving data accessibility – Giving food businesses open access to harmonised environmental data.
• Defining Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies – Recommending best-practice approaches for product-level footprinting and eco-labeling.

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What interim reports are now available for food businesses?

Defra has published four interim reports as part of the LED 4 Food project:

• WP2 – Data harmonisation and interoperability: Recommendations for standardised methods for structuring data and improving consistent data sharing between businesses.
• WP3 – Data accessibility web application: An update on the development of a data tool to democratise environmental impact data across the food and drink industry.
• Product methodology recommendations: High-level guidance for calculating product-level carbon footprints, focussed on how to collect life cycle inventory (LCI) data.
• Product methodology details and evidence: A deeper technical report outlining the evidence base behind the methodology recommendations, including assumptions, modelling choices, and data sources.
  

These documents are intended to support industry testing and feedback — and to inform a future standardised approach to food product footprinting in the UK.

📄 You can access all four reports on Defra’s Science Search website.‍

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Foodsteps' Role in LED 4 Food

Our expertise in conducting Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) for on-farm animal and plant proteins is central to delivering LED 4 Food's first objective (WP1): Improving the availability and quality of environmental impact data for food. 

In particular, we are leading on increasing the volume and quality of available impact data for animal protein systems, building on 4 years of collaboration with the HESTIA platform, a leading database for food LCAs. High quality, transparent and consistent data is a vital building block for confident data-driven action to reduce the impacts of the food system, and we are proud to be delivering this important work.

We will continue to work across all areas of the LED 4 Food project, contributing our expertise in supply chain impact data and environmental footprinting technology to ensure that the solutions developed solve the challenges that industry is facing.

To learn more about how Foodsteps is supporting LED 4 Food, visit our blog.

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‍Why LED 4 Food Matters

‍LED 4 Food will deliver long-term improvements in the data being used to assess the environmental impacts of food production. It will also provide industry-wide guidance for measuring the environmental impacts of the food and drink industry.

By building transparent, open-source and high quality data on the environmental impacts of food, the project supports the goals of Defra’s Food Data Transparency Partnership, which are to help the food industry:

• Communicate consistently and clearly, providing guidance for reporting and environmental footprinting.
• Access reliable food impact data, creating transparency across suppliers and driving actionable insights.
• Improve carbon and data literacy, offering consistent data and methodology guidance to support businesses in their efforts to reduce environmental impacts.