Food & beverage manufacturing has a distinct Scope 1 profile. Sustaineve accounts for all of it.
Refrigeration-heavy Scope 1 (fugitive HFC emissions from cold storage and process cooling), cold chain Scope 2 (electricity for refrigeration equipment), and process boilers create a well-defined emission structure. BRSR compliance requires annual GHG disclosure — Sustaineve calculates it directly from your operational records.
Food & beverage sector is not in CCTS first-wave — but BRSR filing, retail buyer ESG questionnaires, and growing investor pressure from ESG rating agencies create active compliance obligations now.
Emission Sources
Where food & beverage emissions come from.
Every source category mapped to IPCC 2006 & 2019 Refinement factors — including HFC refrigerant GWP values and CEA state grid data.
Refrigerant leaks (HFCs)
Fugitive emissions from cold storage, blast freezers, and process cooling systems. R-134a, R-404a, R-410a all tracked with IPCC GWP factors.
Process boilers
Steam generation for cooking, pasteurisation, sterilisation, and CIP (clean-in-place) systems.
Diesel generators
Backup and site generation — critical for continuous cold chain operations.
Fleet emissions
Refrigerated vehicle fleet for raw material receipt and finished goods distribution.
Cold chain electricity
Refrigeration compressors, cold stores, blast freezers, and processing line utilities — typically the dominant energy cost.
Purchased electricity
Processing lines, packaging equipment, HVAC, and facility lighting. CEA state-specific grid factors applied.
Beyond Carbon
E, S, and G — structured in the same platform.
Carbon footprint, energy consumption, water use, waste generation — all BRSR Principle 6 disclosures.
Health & safety, workforce diversity, labour practices — BRSR Principles 1–5 and CSRD ESRS S1-S4.
Corporate governance, risk management, reporting transparency — BRSR Principles 7–9.
FAQ
Food & beverage ESG compliance questions.
What makes food & beverage Scope 1 different from other sectors?
The key difference is refrigerant fugitive emissions. Food and beverage facilities use large quantities of HFC refrigerants in cold storage, blast freezers, and process cooling systems. HFCs have very high Global Warming Potential (GWP) — R-404a has a GWP of 3,922 compared to CO2's GWP of 1. Even small refrigerant leaks produce significant tCO2e emissions. Sustaineve applies IPCC AR5 GWP factors to your refrigerant inventory and annual top-up records.
Is BRSR mandatory for food and beverage companies?
BRSR Principal 6 is mandatory for the top 1000 listed companies by market capitalisation. Several large Indian food companies (ITC, Nestle India, Britannia, Tata Consumer Products) fall within this mandate. Beyond the direct mandate, food companies supplying to global retail and QSR chains receive ESG data requests through buyer sustainability programmes — requiring the same Scope 1 and Scope 2 data regardless of listing status.
How do we track refrigerant leaks — we don't have meters on every system?
Refrigerant tracking uses the material balance approach under GHG Protocol: total refrigerant purchased for top-up and refill during the year, minus any refrigerant recovered for recycling. This data comes from your maintenance records and refrigerant purchase invoices — not sensor data. Sustaineve structures this input into the correct IPCC Tier 1 calculation methodology.
We have large cold storage facilities. Is the electricity Scope 1 or Scope 2?
Cold storage electricity purchased from your DISCOM or state grid is Scope 2. It is your largest Scope 2 source and typically the largest overall emission category for cold storage operators. Sustaineve applies CEA state-specific grid emission factors to your utility bills. If you self-generate from diesel or gas generators, that generation is Scope 1.
Audit-ready ESG compliance for food & beverage manufacturing.
First compliance report within one week of onboarding.
Request Demo