This collaborative project aims to update and further develop the open-access Big Climate Database for Food with the newest available data and establish a framework for annual updates.
The Big Climate Database is developed by 2-0 LCA and CONCITO in 2021, where it received the Nordic Environmental Prize. Since then, it has provided companies, public authorities, and citizens with free access to carbon footprints of more than 500 of the most common food products at retail. The database is used for climate footprinting and accounting by several catering, restaurants, retails, food manufacturers etc.
Today, the Big Climate Database includes GHG footprint data for 540 retail food items in five countries. Data refer to production data in 2016.
The updated database will provide:
The Big Climate Database provides climate-footprint results for 540 different food products at retail. It has become an important source of information for companies, public authorities, researchers, food professionals, and other stakeholders.
However, agricultural production, energy systems, processing technologies, transport systems, and land use continuously develop. Climate-footprint results can therefore become outdated if the underlying data and models are not regularly maintained.
At the same time, climate-footprint information is used for different purposes. The consequential LCA approach supports purchase and investment decisions by modelling the expected environmental consequences of production and consumption. For reporting under the GHG Protocol, many users prefer to apply a different, attributional LCA approach. To allow users to select results appropriate to their intended application, an updated database should contain results based on both LCA approaches.
Join this project as a member and support the development of the next version of the Big Climate Database.
The project will:
The project is organised as a crowdfunded collaboration. This allows participating organizations to share the cost of developing and maintaining a comprehensive database that would be costly for any individual organization to develop independently.
The underlying data and models will be updated to represent the newest available information on agricultural production, energy, processing, packaging, transport, retail, and land use.
At the launch of the updated database, results will be available for each year from 2016 to 2024. The database will subsequently be available for updating every year with the newest available data.
Users will have access to current climate-footprint results while retaining earlier results for comparison, documentation, and the establishment of relevant baselines.
Results will be calculated using two approaches:
Consequential LCA according to ISO 14044
The consequential model will represent the expected environmental consequences of demand for an additional unit of product. It will apply consequential modelling principles, including substitution for multifunctional processes, marginal supply mixes and indirect land use changes (iLUC). The intended purpose of the consequential model is for decision support regarding purchase and investment decisions.
GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Standard
The GHG Protocol model will be designed for GHG accounting and reporting. It will apply an attributional approach aligned with the GHG Protocol Scope 3 and hereunder the Land Sector and Removals Standard, including the relevant modelling of agricultural production, land management, land use change, and biogenic emissions. The intended purpose of the GHG Protocol model is for GHG accounting and reporting under the GHG Protocol and SBTi.
Users will be able to switch between the two sets of results on the database website. This will make the methodological choice transparent and allow users to select the results suited the specific purpose.
Today, the Big Climate Database only includes data on GHG emissions, i.e. global warming. The updated version will also include the following impact categories:
The updated database will:
The project will be initiated when a minimum of 20 members has been reached.
The membership fee is EUR 3,000 per organization. This is a one-off fee.
After the project is completed, annual updates of the database will be made. Members of the project can have access to this for an annual fee of 300 EUR.
Members are invited to project status meetings held every three months. At the meetings, 2-0 LCA will present the project’s methods, data, progress, and preliminary results. Members will have the opportunity to provide input and discuss the development of the database.
For subscription (or questions), please contact us or go to the club click here.
Members will receive access to:
Public access for non-members will be limited to:
This model ensures continued public access to a substantial part of the database while providing members with the newest data, the complete time series, and both the consequential and the attributional versions of the database.
The project will officially begin when the minimum threshold of 20 members has been reached.
The updated database will be completed and made available to members no later than nine months after the project kick-off.
Joining the project will provide your organization with access to the complete and continuously updated Big Climate Database, including all available years and both methodological approaches.
By becoming a member, your organization will also help establish a shared, transparent, and regularly maintained data foundation for food-related climate assessment, decision-making, and corporate GHG reporting.
The membership fee is a one-time payment of 3,000 EUR per organization. The project will be initiated when 20 members have joined.
After completion of the project, the database will be maintained and updated with new data every year. Members of the crowdfunded project have access to updates for an annual fee of 300 EUR.
For subscription (or questions), please contact us or go to the club click here.
