Industries
Beverage carbon footprint ingredients, packaging and distribution.
The footprint of a beverage is calculated from the ingredients, packaging, bottling, refrigeration and transport. In many beverages the packaging weighs more than the liquid. Xain derives it from technical sheets and plant data with physical factors, and adapts the calculation to the available data.
Key figures
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In a purchased-goods Scope 3 pilot in the food sector, the spend-based method inflated the egg’s footprint nine times compared with the physical calculation. It is a specific case, not a general rule.
Hotspots
What weighs most in a beverage's footprint?
It depends on the beverage, but four blocks are worth reviewing. In many, packaging and distribution weigh as much as the contents, or more.
The ingredients
Cultivation and processing of the raw material.
The packaging
Glass, PET, aluminium or carton, with its weight and recycled content.
Bottling and refrigeration
Plant energy and preservation.
Transport
To the customer, by route and mode.
A beverage has a short chain of ingredients but a long chain of packaging and distribution. The footprint request comes from large retail, hospitality and customers reporting their Scope 3.
Case: 33 cl cola can
Measured for Ilunion’s purchases (one of the drinks it sells in its shops). Coca-Cola is named in the case; its logo is not used.
With Xain’s physical calculation (ISO 14067, verified by LRQA), the footprint is about 0.17 kgCO2e per can. The breakdown shows where the weight sits:
- Aluminium packaging: about 56 % of the footprint.
- Liquid (water, sugar and CO2): about 0.03 kg (almost nothing; for the Zero version, about 0.01).
- Rest: production and transport.
With a generic spend-based factor for “food liquid”, the same can went to about 0.36 kgCO2e: twice as much. Spend also does not distinguish recycled from virgin aluminium (Coca-Cola declares around 50 % recycled) or allow packaging comparisons. The physical method locates the footprint in the packaging, not the liquid, and makes it possible to act on the aluminium.
Why calculate per reference and format?
The same beverage in a glass bottle, a can or a carton has different footprints, and secondary packaging counts too. Calculating per reference lets you compare formats and decide on packaging with data, not averages.
How does the calculation adapt to the data?
If there is no manufacturing detail, average physical factors in line with ISO 14067 are used. If process data are available (recycled content, energy origin, plant consumption), they are incorporated and the result is more precise.
What documentation is needed?
The recipe or ingredient list, the type and weight of each container, closure, label and case, your plant’s consumption (energy, water, refrigeration) and distribution routes. Primary data from your packaging suppliers improves the result.
How does this relate to Scope 3?
For a winery, brewery or bottler, purchases of raw materials and packaging are often a significant part of its Scope 3. See how it is measured in Scope 3 of purchased goods. If you communicate the footprint to consumers, review EmpCo.
Frequently asked questions
What companies usually ask before getting started.
Does the footprint change with the bottle format?
Yes. Material, packaging weight, closure, label and secondary packaging change between formats, so each reference has its own result.
Can the purchased-goods Scope 3 of a winery or brewery be calculated?
Yes. Purchases of raw materials, containers and packaging fall under Scope 3 Categories 1 and 2, measured with physical factors and not with the amount paid.
Where is the footprint of a can?
In a 33 cl cola can case, the aluminium packaging accounts for about 56 % of the footprint (~0.17 kgCO2e per can with the physical calculation). The liquid contributes very little (~0.03 kg; ~0.01 for the Zero version).
What if I do not have manufacturing detail?
Xain adapts the calculation to the available data: without detail it uses average physical factors in line with ISO 14067; if you provide recycled content, energy origin or other data, it incorporates them and the result is more precise.
Keep reading
Product footprint
Certify your product’s carbon footprint with an ISO 14067 method verified by LRQA, from your technical documentation, with registration and traceability.
Per-shipment certificate
Get the carbon footprint by reference, SKU, colour, destination or shipment. Every Xain certificate has a unique registration number and node traceability.
Scope 3 for purchases
Measure purchased-goods Scope 3 (Categories 1 and 2) with physical factors. Xain Insight needs only the ERP spreadsheet: less than 10 minutes.
Physical vs spend factors
Differences between spend-based and physical emission factors: how they are calculated, what errors they cause and when each fits for products and Scope 3.
Tell us what you want to measure
One product, a catalogue or your purchases. We reply with the next steps.
Contact Xain