Carbon Footprint Comparison

020 3699 9996

Shepherds Building Central, W14 0EH

020 3699 9996

Shepherds Building Central, W14 0EH

Substantiation: Carbon Footprint Comparison

For more information or if you have any questions about the claim, please contact us here.

Overview:

This analysis was calculated as part of a Comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in 2020 of the food waste and greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions arising from consuming meals a) purchased from Gousto and b) purchased from an average UK supermarket. Food waste here refers to the combined total of food lost in the supply chain, and food wasted downstream (i.e. from distribution, delivery, to the final customer).

The LCA was carried out by environmental services company Foodsteps, and independently verified via a third party critical review and a GHG Protocol Standard reasonable assurance statement.

Methodology:

The analysis is based on 50 of Gousto's most popular recipes in 5 categories (red meat, pork and poultry, fish, vegan, vegetarian), whose ingredient quantities were standardised to kilograms. Gousto provided information to Foodsteps on the proportion of food lost at the warehouse and wasted at the household, and details of its energy, delivery and logistics providers. Gousto provided a GHG emissions value for the delivery of their meals, calculated by Gousto’s delivery partners.

For supermarket meals, secondary data was used to source comparable information. The same recipes and their ingredients were modelled from the supermarket system as the Gousto system, in order to give the same quantity of food consumed.

Where primary data (eg. direct data from Gousto’s operations and suppliers) could not be obtained from Gousto, secondary data (e.g. data from external sources such as government publications) was used in the analysis to source comparable information.

Emissions:
The 23% emissions figure (rounded up from 22.67%) is calculated as the average of the percentage savings between the footprint of each meal, not the percentage savings between the average footprint of all the meals (which would have been 21.01% emissions saving). We believe it makes most sense to calculate the percentage savings for each individual meal (Gousto vs Supermarket) and then average those savings (23% value). That way the percentage savings is comparing like-for-like products, and an average is then taken across 50 examples.

Food waste:
The 2KG figure is calculated by taking the average savings per recipe, for each of the 5 categories provided by Foodsteps. We then use that figure to calculate the savings for every order (adjusted to the number of portions within each order). Finally, we take the average of these savings per order, for all orders, across the specified time period (i.e. 2021).

Life cycle stages - carbon emissions:

The food waste and carbon footprint analysis studies the impact of food across the full life cycle, within a cradle to grave system.

Farm to distribution: Emissions arising from land use change (burning), land use change (carbon stock), feed, farming, pre-warehouse processing, pre-retail transport and storage
Warehouse and retail: Emissions arising from warehouse processing and retail impacts such as storage
Packaging: Emissions arising from raw materials and manufacturing of packaging, transport to warehouse, and end-of-life
Delivery: Emissions arising from transport from the market system to the customer
Cooking: Emissions arising from the use of appliances in the cooking process
End-of-life: Emissions arising from food waste disposal by anaerobic digestion,
composting, incineration, sewer disposal, and landfilling

Life cycle stages - food waste:
Farm to distribution: Losses arising from agriculture, post-harvest handling, storage and pre-warehouse processing
Warehouse and retail: Food waste arising from final processing, retail, and delivery / pick up
Household: Food waste arising from consumers discarding raw food and cooked food

Unit of analysis
The unit of measurement for food waste is kilograms of raw ingredients (kg).

The functional unit of the analysis was a two-person serving of each Gousto meal, as consumed by the customer.

A 100-year global warming potential (GWP) factor was applied to GHG emissions and removals data to calculate the inventory results in units of CO2 equivalent (CO2e).

These figures are based on average order values for 2021, using the Foodsteps methodology from 2020

Exclusions

Food loss arising at the “farm to distribution” stage was not included in the final comparative food waste calculation. The GHG emissions associated with these losses were however included in the total carbon footprint of meals from both systems. Food losses at the end-mile (delivery / pick-up) stage of the life cycle were excluded from the food waste assessment for Gousto and the supermarket because appropriate data could not be obtained. It was assumed that these losses would be minimal.

Emissions from household refrigeration and storage were excluded from the carbon footprint assessment because data on the different storage time lengths of different ingredients was not available. It was also assumed that any difference in these impacts between supermarkets and Gousto meals would be negligible.

Substantiation: Carbon Footprint Comparison

“Gousto meals produce 23% less carbon emissions than physical supermarkets”
“On average, every Gousto order saves 2KG of food waste*”
*Compared to the equivalent supermarket shop

For more information or if you have any questions about the claim, please contact us here.

Overview:

This analysis was calculated as part of a Comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in 2020 of the food waste and greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions arising from consuming meals a) purchased from Gousto and b) purchased from an average UK supermarket. Food waste here refers to the combined total of food lost in the supply chain, and food wasted downstream (i.e. from distribution, delivery, to the final customer).

The LCA was carried out by environmental services company Foodsteps, and independently verified via a third party critical review and a GHG Protocol Standard reasonable assurance statement.

Methodology:

The analysis is based on 50 of Gousto's most popular recipes in 5 categories (red meat, pork and poultry, fish, vegan, vegetarian), whose ingredient quantities were standardised to kilograms. Gousto provided information to Foodsteps on the proportion of food lost at the warehouse and wasted at the household, and details of its energy, delivery and logistics providers. Gousto provided a GHG emissions value for the delivery of their meals, calculated by Gousto’s delivery partners.

For supermarket meals, secondary data was used to source comparable information. The same recipes and their ingredients were modelled from the supermarket system as the Gousto system, in order to give the same quantity of food consumed.

Where primary data (eg. direct data from Gousto’s operations and suppliers) could not be obtained from Gousto, secondary data (e.g. data from external sources such as government publications) was used in the analysis to source comparable information.

Emissions:
The 23% emissions figure (rounded up from 22.67%) is calculated as the average of the percentage savings between the footprint of each meal, not the percentage savings between the average footprint of all the meals (which would have been 21.01% emissions saving). We believe it makes most sense to calculate the percentage savings for each individual meal (Gousto vs Supermarket) and then average those savings (23% value). That way the percentage savings is comparing like-for-like products, and an average is then taken across 50 examples.

Food waste:
The 2KG figure is calculated by taking the average savings per recipe, for each of the 5 categories provided by Foodsteps. We then use that figure to calculate the savings for every order (adjusted to the number of portions within each order). Finally, we take the average of these savings per order, for all orders, across the specified time period (i.e. 2021).

Life cycle stages - carbon emissions:

The food waste and carbon footprint analysis studies the impact of food across the full life cycle, within a cradle to grave system.

Farm to distribution: Emissions arising from land use change (burning), land use change (carbon stock), feed, farming, pre-warehouse processing, pre-retail transport and storage
Warehouse and retail: Emissions arising from warehouse processing and retail impacts such as storage
Packaging: Emissions arising from raw materials and manufacturing of packaging, transport to warehouse, and end-of-life
Delivery: Emissions arising from transport from the market system to the customer
Cooking: Emissions arising from the use of appliances in the cooking process
End-of-life: Emissions arising from food waste disposal by anaerobic digestion,
composting, incineration, sewer disposal, and landfilling

Life cycle stages - food waste:
Farm to distribution: Losses arising from agriculture, post-harvest handling, storage and pre-warehouse processing
Warehouse and retail: Food waste arising from final processing, retail, and delivery / pick up
Household: Food waste arising from consumers discarding raw food and cooked food

Unit of analysis
The unit of measurement for food waste is kilograms of raw ingredients (kg).

The functional unit of the analysis was a two-person serving of each Gousto meal, as consumed by the customer.

A 100-year global warming potential (GWP) factor was applied to GHG emissions and removals data to calculate the inventory results in units of CO2 equivalent (CO2e).

These figures are based on average order values for 2021, using the Foodsteps methodology from 2020

Exclusions
Food loss arising at the “farm to distribution” stage was not included in the final comparative food waste calculation. These GHG emissions associated with these losses were however included in the total carbon footprint of meals from both systems. Food losses at the end-mile (delivery / pick-up) stage of the life cycle were excluded from the food waste assessment for Gousto and the supermarket because appropriate data could not be obtained. It was assumed that these losses would be minimal.

Emissions from household refrigeration and storage were excluded from the carbon footprint assessment because data on the different storage time lengths of different ingredients was not available. It was also assumed that any difference in these impacts between supermarkets and Gousto meals would be negligible.