Food Climate Footprint Score Methodology

The Climate Footprint Score is a combination of scores from two subsystems: the Carbon Footprint Score and the Water Footprint Score. 

The Climate Footprint Score rates products on a scale of 1-100 based on their estimated carbon and water footprints per serving using the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Product Standard and the Water Footprint Network’s Water Footprint Assessment Manual. The lower the estimated carbon footprint and water footprint, the higher a product will score.

• 90 – 100 Low footprint

• 65 – 89 Moderate footprint

• 30 – 64 High footprint

• 0 – 29 Very high footprint

• 0 – 5 Extremely high footprint

The Food Climate Score is one of four science-based food scores that evaluate foods' nutritional density, ingredient processing, ingredient safety, and climate footprint and combine to make the food GreenScore®.

Food Carbon Footprint Scoring

The Food Carbon Footprint Scoring System follows the GHG Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard for estimating the carbon footprint of a food or beverage product and reflects the estimated amount of greenhouse gasses (GHG's) emitted throughout the lifecycle of each ingredient, measured in standard carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq).

The CO2eq of each ingredient of a product is calculated based on data from GreenChoice’s comprehensive Life Cycle Inventory Database (LCI Database), comprising hundreds of commodities. We consolidated our LCI Database using an aggregation of the most reputable life cycle assessments (LCAs) published in a variety of reputable, peer-reviewed scientific journals. 

The system outputs the estimated carbon footprint based on one serving of a product, along with a translation of the estimated carbon footprint into an equivalent amount of emissions which would have been created by driving a certain number of miles in a typical car, using data published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

Points are deducted based on the number of grams of carbon dioxide equivalents emitted per serving of the product. The total carbon footprint of each product is assigned to one of six tiers and can tank as Very low, Low, Moderate, High, Very High, or Extremely High.

Food Water Footprint Scoring

For the Food Climate Footprint Score, the water footprint of each ingredient is calculated based on total water consumption (blue, green, and grey). Using data from the Water Footprint Network along with additional data from the beverage industry, we have aggregated water footprint data for hundreds of commodities in our LCI Database. 

The system outputs the estimated water footprint based on one serving of a product, along with a conversion into the equivalent water footprint of taking a shower for a certain number of minutes considering data published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Using our proprietary method for analyzing the water footprint of a food or beverage product, the estimated water footprint of each product is assigned to one of six tiers and can rank as Very low, Low, Moderate, High, Very High, or Extremely High. 

Predominant Data Sources

1. World Resources Institute. World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Greenhouse Gas Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard. September 2011. Available at https://ghgprotocol.org/product-standard. 

2. CarbonScopeData. Process LCI Methodology. Available at https://www.carbonscopedata.com/Methodology

3. Water Footprint Network. Repository of Water Footprint Publications. Available at https://www.waterfootprint.org/publications/.