To illustrate the data collection process, here’s a case study of a hypothetical food business, Fresh Bites Deli (FBD), which operates multiple deli locations and sources ingredients from various suppliers. Fresh Bites Deli aims to complete its Company Carbon Footprint assessment, focusing on Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
Note: If you’re wondering how these Scopes apply to your own business, our team is here to help! Feel free to reach out for personalised guidance on collecting the right data for your operations.
Scope 1: Direct Emissions
Delivery Fleet Fuel Use:
FBD operates a small fleet of delivery vans to transport fresh ingredients to their locations. The deli tracks fuel usage for all vehicles over a one-year period, recording both diesel and petrol in litres from fuel receipts and supplier invoices.
On-site Refrigeration Units:
The deli relies on refrigeration units to keep ingredients fresh - they report on the refrigerants that leak from refrigeration units each year (sometimes called fugitive emissions). To calculate the leakage, they simply note how much they have had to 'top up' the refrigerant over the last year.
Scope 2: Indirect Emissions from Purchased Energy
Electricity for Deli Locations:
Each Fresh Bites location uses electricity for lighting, refrigeration, and kitchen equipment. The deli gathers electricity bills from each location, recording total kWh used monthly.Preferable: as FBD source electricity from a renewable energy provider who records their own emissions factors, the supplier’s emissions factor are integrated integrated into their CCF.
Optional: if FBD cannot provide supplier emissions factors, My Emissions will consider the national average grid supplier for scope 2 calculations.
Purchased Heating for Offices:
Fresh Bites owns office space with electric heating. This indirect energy is factored into the Scope 2 assessment.
Scope 3: Other Indirect Emissions Across the Value Chain
Category 1: Purchased Goods & Services:
Fresh Bites Deli purchases fresh ingredients like produce and grains, along with packaging for takeaway items. For each type of produce and packaging material, the deli records quantities (in kg or tonnes) and supplier details.Optional: some suppliers have carried out their own emissions assessments. My Emissions can integrate these into your CCF calculation, if the supplier study meets our minimal criteria (e.g. same system boundary).
Category 4: Upstream Transportation & Distribution
FBD uses third-party logistics providers to transport bulk supplies to their locations. For each delivery, the deli tracks the kilometres travelled and total weight of goods transported, using invoices from logistics providers.
Category 5: Waste Generation in Operations
Fresh Bites Deli generates food and packaging waste, which is managed by a local waste contractor. The deli tracks monthly waste volume in kg, separating food and packaging waste and recording disposal methods (e.g., landfill, composting) to accurately reflect the environmental impact.