How to measure emissions from Food and drink

What counts as Food and drink

Food and drink covers items purchased by the organisation for staff catering, canteens, hospitality and client entertaining — not food or drink the organisation manufactures or sells as its own product. It's reported under Scope 3 Category 1, using weight, volume or unit counts where available, falling back to spend for less material purchases. The taxonomy tracks a wide range of individual food items — from almonds to anglerfish — reflecting how differently plant-based, animal-based and processed foods contribute to emissions.

This category is about consumption, not production — a food manufacturer or restaurant would report the ingredients and products it sells under Sold Products or its relevant purchased goods category, while Food and Drink here covers what an organisation of any sector buys to feed its own people. Because plant-based, dairy, meat and seafood items carry very different emissions profiles, breaking purchases down by specific food type produces a far more accurate footprint than a single spend-based average. Hospitality and client entertaining sit here too, alongside canteen and vending purchases, since both represent food and drink bought by the organisation rather than sold to customers. Where catering is outsourced to a contractor, ask for itemised purchasing data rather than a single invoice total, since the contractor will usually hold it.

What activity data you need

Collect the most specific physical unit available. Unit definitions are in Appendix I — Description of Units.

• kg
• litre
• tonne
• Unit
• $ Spend
• £ Spend

Which emission scope it falls under

Food and drink activity data typically maps to Scope 3 Category 1 under the GHG Protocol. Confirm organisational boundary and ownership before reporting.

Common sub-types

• Almond milk: Global average
• Almonds: Global average
• Anglerfish: Global average
• Apples: Global average
• Apricots: Global average
• Artichokes: Global average
• Asparagus: Global average
• Aubergine: Global average

Common questions

Should I include food bought for events and conferences we host?

Yes, catering for events, conferences and client hospitality that your organisation pays for belongs here, alongside routine staff catering.

How specific does the food breakdown need to be?

As specific as your data allows. Even a rough split between meat, dairy, plant-based and beverages improves accuracy meaningfully over a single blended average, since these categories differ widely in emissions intensity.

Do staff expense claims for client lunches count, or only catered events?

Both. Individually expensed meals and larger catered events are the same activity — food and drink purchased on the organisation's behalf — just sourced from different systems.

What about food waste from catering — is that reported here too?

No, food waste disposal is a separate waste activity. This category covers what's purchased, not what happens to unconsumed portions afterwards.

We provide free snacks and drinks in the office — is that material enough to track?

It's often smaller than catered events, but if snack and beverage spend is regular and sizeable, it's worth tracking with the same rigour, particularly since suppliers can usually provide volume data on request.