Food industry subcontractor carbon footprint:
the operational guide.

Why the food industry is on the front line

The food industry has a particularity: Scope 3 often accounts for more than 85% of total emissions. The reason is structural, most of the carbon footprint lies in the supply chain: agricultural production, processing, packaging, cold chain logistics, transport.

For a group like Danone or Nestlé, reducing its Scope 3 means knowing the emissions of every link in the chain. And every link is a supplier. Often an SME. Often you.

Since the CSRD came into force for large companies, these groups have been structuring their supplier data collection. Carbon questionnaires arrive earlier and earlier in the year, in increasingly standardized formats (often aligned with CDP or EcoVadis). For an SME supplier, being unable to respond becomes a real commercial handicap.

The specifics of Scope 3 in the food industry

Calculating emissions for a food industry SME follows the same principles as any other sector (ADEME monetary method, GHG Protocol categories), but with specific emission items you need to know about.

Category 1: Purchases of agricultural raw materials. This is usually the heaviest item. Ingredients of animal origin (milk, meat, eggs) have very high emission factors in the ADEME Base. Plant-based ingredients are less intensive, but volumes make up for it. The ADEME monetary ratio for food industry purchases varies widely depending on the type of product, so it’s essential to use the most precise NAF codes possible.

Category 3: Energy, including cold chain. The cold chain is a major item in the food industry. If you know your electricity consumption in kWh (from your bills), use the ADEME physical factor for electricity rather than the monetary ratio, it’s much more precise for this item.

Category 4: Upstream transport and logistics. Refrigerated transport has a higher emission factor than standard transport (approximately +15 to +25% according to ADEME estimates) due to the onboard refrigeration unit. If possible, distinguish your standard transport and refrigerated transport expenses within your 624 accounts.

Category 5: Waste and losses. The food industry generates specific organic waste (raw material losses, non-compliant products, effluents). This item is rarely tracked in accounting but can be estimated via Oakbon’s guided questionnaire, using ADEME sector averages.

Numerical example: dairy processing SME (40 employees)

Milk and ingredient purchases (601-602): €1,200,000 × 1.45 kgCO₂e/€ = 1,740 tCO₂e
Packaging (601-602, packaging label): €180,000 × 0.90 kgCO₂e/€ = 162 tCO₂e
Energy / cold chain (6061): €85,000 × 0.55 kgCO₂e/€ = 46.7 tCO₂e
Refrigerated transport (624): €95,000 × 1.30 kgCO₂e/€ = 123.5 tCO₂e
External services (604, 611-617): €75,000 × 0.42 kgCO₂e/€ = 31.5 tCO₂e
Travel (625): €15,000 × 0.65 kgCO₂e/€ = 9.7 tCO₂e

Estimated total Scope 3: 2,113 tCO₂e · or approximately 52.8 tCO₂e per employee

It’s clear that dairy raw material purchases account for more than 80% of the total. This is typical of the food industry, and it’s exactly what your major client wants to know.

How to structure your response to your client

Your client expects a structured report, not a makeshift Excel spreadsheet. The report should include the total Scope 3 emissions in tCO₂e, the breakdown by GHG Protocol category, standardized indicators (tCO₂e per employee, tCO₂e per €M of revenue), the methodological note (scope, ADEME factors used, assumptions, limitations), and ideally alignment with the ESRS E1 and GHG Protocol standards.

This is exactly what Oakbon generates. You import your accounting export, answer the guided questionnaire for specific items (waste, cold chain, refrigerated transport), and receive an aligned PDF report, ready to send to your client, in under two hours.

Key takeaway: In the food industry, Scope 3 is dominated by raw material purchases. This is the item to refine first. Physical data (tonnes of milk, kWh of cold storage) considerably improves precision, but an initial monetary calculation based on accounting is already enough to answer your client’s questionnaire.

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Oakbon automates the calculation of your Scope 3 emissions from your accounting data. Aligned report in under 2 hours.

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