Transport is included within the My Emissions system boundary and accounts for emissions from transporting both ingredients and final products, from their origin to the store or customer.
For ingredient transport, any emissions from transport before the ingredients arrive at the manufacturing site are already accounted for in our database’s emissions factors.
For the final product’s transport, we track the entire journey from the manufacturing site to the point of sale (e.g. retailer, foodservice). Our transport emissions calculations take into account:
Every stage of the product’s journey, including stops at warehouses, packers, distribution centres, etc.
The distance travelled, measured in kilometres (km) or miles
The percentage of total units transported on each leg of the journey
The mode of transport used, such as vans, ferries, or Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs). For HGVs, we also specify whether they are refrigerated or non-refrigerated.
To ensure accuracy, we source our mode of transport emissions conversion values from trusted databases, such as Defra.
Some products may not have final product transport emissions, such as dishes prepared and served in restaurants. In these cases, only the ingredient transport emissions are considered.