A bigger and better Climate Database of 540 food items
September 23, 2024 by admin
Today we’re launching a new an improved version 1.2 of The Big Climate Database.
In 2021 2.-0 LCA consultants and the Danish green thinktank CONCITO launched The Big Climate Database. It provided food industry professionals and consumers with freely accessible and transparent information about the climate impact of 500 common foods on the Danish market.
In January 2024 it was updated and expanded to 503 foods and launched in a version for the UK market.
Now, we’re adding results for the Netherlands, France, and Spain and expanding the database with 37 new food items.
Regionalized data
Version 1.2 of The Big Climate Database includes regionalized data at the retail level for the Danish, British, Dutch, French, and Spanish markets and now contains the average climate impact of a total of 540 foods.
Regionalized means, that the climate impact of a French baguette or a Spanish Iberico ham will have the specific climate impact of the food purchased in a French or Spanish supermarket, including all emissions up to the point of purchase. This gives the data unique accuracy and flexibility.
Data for all included countries, the technical details behind the database, and the more than 17,000 underlying datasets are freely available at the new website:
www.thebigclimatedatabase.com.
9% on average increase in emissions
The most significant changes compared to version 1.1 for the Danish and British markets are due to an updated and detailed model of fertilizer production and for calculating greenhouse gases from indirect changes in land use.
These changes (among many others), mean that the climate impact for all products has increased by an average of about 9%. For 33 foods, the climate impact has increased by more than 20%, while for 176, it has decreased from version 1.1 to 1.2.
Future updates
This update of The Big Climate Database was carried out and financed by us at 2.-0 LCA consultants, and we’ll continue to improve the datasets behind it and will add more countries and products in the coming years.
Version 1.2 for the Danish market is available as a downloadable version at denstoreklimadatabase.dk, which is managed by CONCITO with targeted information for Danish users of the climate database. The web table will be updated shortly.
Facts about The Big Climate Database
The Big Climate Database was launched in 2021 by CONCITO in collaboration with 2.-0 LCA consultants and with support from the Salling Foundations.
The Big Climate Database was awarded the Nordic Council’s Environmental Prize in 2021 for the project’s significant changemaking potential.
Version 1.1 was launched in January 2024 with updates and corrections, including the addition of average climate footprints for beef, pork, and chicken, as well as a version for the UK market. The update was released by CONCITO in collaboration with 2.-0 LCA consultants and funded by the prize money from the Nordic Council’s Environmental Prize. The UK market version was financed by Zedible.
Version 1.2, with results for Denmark, England, the Netherlands, France, and Spain, and 540 food products, was carried out and funded by 2.-0 LCA consultants. The results, the underlying datasets, and the methodology report are available at thebigclimatedatabase.com.