CO2 screening of food products

CO₂ screening of food products

Sometimes life cycle analyses can be too cumbersome or resource-intensive for simpler tasks.

That's why at Danish Technological Institute, we also offer to conduct a CO₂ screening, which can support process and ingredient choices or provide more confidence that the assumption of lower climate impact for a particular product or manufacturing method is credible.

A CO₂ screening is done by reviewing available literature and databases that can provide an overview of existing knowledge in the field.

An overview of how the carbon footprint may change can therefore be an important part of forming a decision basis for implementing a new technology or changing ingredients. It can also be an important part of a design process – known as eco-design – where environmental and climate considerations are integrated into the design and development phases of a new food product.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How accurate is a CO₂-screening?

The CO₂ screening is not specific to your production methods, but can instead provide insight into the average load for the category. The numbers can therefore be best utilized for tasks such as ingredient selection or to provide an idea of where to focus efforts to reduce climate impact. If you need more accurate figures, we need to use a life cycle approach to calculate specifically for your production methods.

Read more about life cycle analyses here

May I use the results from a CO₂ screening in my marketing?

There are relatively strict requirements for marketing climate-related claims. Since a CO₂ screening is not specific to your production methods, it cannot form the basis for marketing to the general public. Instead, a life cycle analysis with third-party validation is required - something we can also assist with.

Read more about life cycle analyses here