Agri-footprint
The world's leading source of environmental footprint data for the agri-food sector
Mérieux NutriSciences | Blonk developed the Agri-footprint database to provide a thorough and consistent life cycle inventory (LCI) database, which is required to advance sustainability in the agriculture and food sector.
Agri-footprint covers data on food, feed and agricultural intermediate products. The database facilitates transparency and enables key actors in the food system to reduce their environmental impact.
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About the database
Since its release in 2014, various organizations have used Agri-footprint for applications such as product Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), carbon footprinting, hotspot analysis, labeling schemes and implementation in sustainability software solutions and services.
Agri-footprint has been widely accepted by the food industry, the LCA community, the scientific community, and governmental institutions. Furthermore, many processes are modeled in alignment with the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) guidance of the European Commission. The database is developed using the ReCiPe Midpoint H (version 1.07, 2016) LCA method and three allocation methods can be applied: mass, energy, and economic allocation.
The data quality and coverage of Agri-footprint is improved with each release, and the database now contains approximately 5,000 products and processes. Agri-footprint is built using statistics, scientific literature, other databases and industry data coupled with Blonk's expert modeling. As such, it is a high-quality, reliable, and consistent database for its user base.
Formats
XLSX, CSV, JSON, SimaPro CSV and openLCA .zolca
Uses
R+D, Scope 3 assessments, carbon footprinting, FLAG, product LCAs, etc.
Integration
Easy integration into your data systems, tools, software and solutions
We now offer an Agri-footprint version which complies to the SBTi FLAG Guidelines. Agri-footprint FLAG has been developed to facilitate users analyzing their GHG inventory to set FLAG targets as described in the SBTi FLAG Guidance.
> Learn more
Our data experts adapted the database to make it compliant with the FLAG Guidance. These adaptions include:
Land Use Change (LUC) impact is calculated using linear discounting, as described in the SBTi FLAG guidance
In contrast, the Agri-footprint 6.3 Land Use Change (LUC) emissions during cultivation are calculated using equal 20-year amortization, using PAS2050 methodology as described by PEF/GFLI standards. The difference in LUC accounting results in differences in LUC impact between the Agri-footprint 6.3 and Agri-footprint FLAG. More information can be found in the updated overarching Agri-footprint methodology reports.
GHG emissions from Land Management are reported separately
Land Management emissions include all direct emissions that take place on agricultural fields or farms (plant and start material cultivation and animal husbandry). The definition of Land Management emissions from the GHG Protocol Land Sector & Removal Guidance is applied. Please note that this guidance is still in draft form (final version expected in 2023), but it is expected that the final version will be aligned with the SBTi FLAG methodology.
Comparison Agri-footprint 6.3 and Agri-footprint FLAG
You can access Agri-footprint in various data types (Impact Result Level, System Process Level and Unit Process Level) and formats (Excel, CSV, JSON). The Impact Result Level contains the calculated environmental impacts of all products and processes using the ReCiPe 2016 midpoint (H) method, while the System Process and Unit Process Level are more detailed. All versions of Agri-footprint 6 contain some ecoinvent background data.
> More information on data types
Annual license options
- Research license
For academic or NGO use in research, reports, presentations, or teaching - Commercial license
For single-user generation of multiple reports, presentations, and research & development - Developer license
For multi-user generation of multiple reports, presentations, research & development, and integration within a tool, software, or service
Research license
For academic or NGO use in research, reports, presentations, or teaching.
The following versions are available:
- Carbon footprint (including Land Use Change)
- Economic allocation
- Economic, mass and energy allocation
- All 19 impact categories
- Economic allocation
- Economic, mass and energy allocation
Up to 5 users per license
Data types
Impact Result Level, System Process Level, Unit Process Level
Commercial license
For single-user generation of multiple reports, presentations, and research & development, in a commercial setting.
The following versions are available:
- Carbon footprint (including Land Use Change)
- Economic allocation
- Economic, mass and energy allocation
- All 19 impact categories
- Economic allocation
- Economic, mass and energy allocation
Single user
Data types
Impact Result Level, System Process Level, Unit Process Level
Developer license
For multi-user generation of multiple reports, presentations, research & development, and integration within a tool, software, or service.
The following versions are available:
- Carbon footprint (including Land Use Change)
- Economic allocation
- Economic, mass and energy allocation
- All 19 impact categories
- Economic allocation
- Economic, mass and energy allocation
Multi-user
Data types
Impact Result Level, System Process Level, Unit Process Level
Also available in these Life Cycle Assessment software
SimaPro
SimaPro is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) software package developed by PRé Sustainability. A license is needed to use SimaPro, coming with various databases, such as Agri-footprint.
In other words: Agri-footprint is available for free in the latest SimaPro version.
openLCA
openLCA is freely available open-source software for LCAs and related life cycle analyses. GreenDelta initiated the development of this software.
Agri-footprint is available in openLCA as a paid database. Find more information on how to purchase Agri-footprint in the openLCA Nexus online LCA data repository.
Methodology documents
There is only one overarching methodology report for Agri-footprint, which covers versions Agri-footprint 6.3 and Agri-footprint FLAG.
The methodology report of Agri-footprint contains background information on the methodology, calculation rules, and the data used to develop the data published in Agri-footprint.
The background report of Agri-footprint includes three documents:
- Part 1 describes the overall methodology and fundamental principles like allocation, system boundaries, reviews, and limitations of Agri-footprint;
- Part 2 describes the data used to model the processes of Agri-footprint;
- Part 3 includes a data comparison between Agri-footprint 5 and 6.
Products in Agri-footprint 6
and Agri-footprint FLAG
Agri-footprint contains inventories of food, feed, and beverage-related ingredients.
The LCA database contains almost 5,000 products and processes, most of which are country-specific. Some examples:
- Fertilizer products: calcium ammonium nitrate, urea, diammonium phosphate, NPK fertilizers
- Vegetable oil and protein meal products: soybean oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, palm oil
- Sugar products: beet sugar, cane sugar
- Starch products: maize starch, flour, potato starch, tapioca
- Animal products: milk, cream, milk powder, beef, veal, broilers, pork, and egg
- Marine ingredients: Fish meal and fish oil from whole fish and by-products
Bugs and issues
To us, transparency is essential in developing sustainable agri-food value chains. This is why we want to be open about all currently known bugs and issues in Agri-footprint, including our envisioned solution. Did you find a bug? Please report it to us.
FAQ
Do you have any other questions about Agri-footprint, such as its availability, carbon sequestration, land-use change, data quality, or how it deals with uncertainty? Please take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions section.
We need your feedback!
Agri-footprint Questionnaire
We're always striving to make our database the best it can be, and your input is invaluable to us. Therefore, we are interested in how you use Agri-footprint, what you value most about it and where you see opportunities for improvement. Your insights can help shape its future.
Please take a moment (less than 10 minutes) to complete our questionnaire and share your thoughts and ideas for the development Agri-footprint. Your input is incredibly valuable, and we appreciate your contribution. Thank you!
Customer Q&A
Generating SBTi and GHG Protocol corporate footprints in under 4 weeks using Agri-footprint FLAG
We love hearing from our customers about how Agri-footprint has impacted their work. For this Q&A, we spoke with Felipe Daguila, Chief Customer Officers at Terrascope, about their experience using Agri-footprint FLAG. Terrascope is a Singapore-based smart carbon measurement and management SaaS platform.
In this Q&A you will learn how Agri-footprint FLAG helped Terrascope to unlock a new offering for their land-intensive clients. Thanks to our database, they were able to generate speedy and precise corporate footprints for their clients, in alignment with SBTi FLAG guidance and the GHG Protocol Land Sectors Removals guidance.
Keep reading to discover Terrascope's story and see how Agri-footprint FLAG could help your organization expand your offering.
news
New Agri-footprint FLAG version compliant to the SBTi FLAG Guidelines
Our data experts are always looking for ways to enrich Blonk's Agri-footprint database and keep it valuable for its users. Therefore, we are proud to announce a new version of Agri-footprint which complies with the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) Forest Land and Agriculture Guidance (FLAG). Agri-footprint FLAG will help the increasingly large group of organizations which set FLAG targets in analyzing their Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory.
News
Agri-footprint 6 now available
Our Agri-footprint database is an increasingly important source of information for experts working on environmental assessment of the agricultural value chain. These experts represent key stakeholders from the private sector, the scientific community, and governmental authorities, who are unified in their mission of building a more sustainable future. As such, we are excited and proud to announce that the newest version of Agri-footprint is here to enable that mission. There are many additions to this update, but most notably a large expansion of animal production systems.
Related to Agri-footprint
Agri-footprint Branded Data Add-ons
Agri-footprint branded data are brand-specific add-ons to the Agri-footprint database. While Agri-footprint also contains a wide range of general data on agricultural commodities, branded data is company or brand-specific life cycle impact data. This branded data, disclosed by companies themselves and calculated based on primary data, helps companies make their products' environmental performance visible and share it with stakeholders.
Questions about Agri-footprint?
Get in touch
Jixin Liu
Please contact Jixin if you want more information on Agri-footprint and its uses, if you are interested in a license for multiple users, or want to include Agri-footprint in your own tool or software solution.