A coalition of fmcg giants, the Consumer Goods Forum, has launched a new framework to help the retail industry align on emissions and deforestation data.
Designed in partnership with major consultancy, Boston Consulting Group, the Common Data Framework promotes alignment on the collection and reporting of emissions and deforestation data across global value chains, amid a ramping-up of regulatory requirements both in Europe and the US.
The CGF claims “different metrics, formats, and methodologies among retailers result in inefficiencies at best, and inaccurate and incomplete data at worst”.
To reduce the reporting burden on suppliers and enhance data quality, the framework offers retailers common standards on the two critical areas of Scope 3 emissions and deforestation and conversion-free (DCF) sourcing.
The framework provides guidance for businesses considering they may be at different stages of their sustainability journeys, supporting them on areas like understanding how their emissions and deforestation data can be gathered, the level of granularity needed for different business sizes, as well as validating the data collected by retailers and giving companies key internal performance indicators to measure.
Read more: How sustainability efforts in the food industry are going up in flames
The CGF will also help retailers, especially smaller ones, engage with their suppliers – particularly in areas with traditionally fragmented supply bases such as cocoa, tea and palm oil – to make sure they are getting the correct data needed for their emissions reporting.
The coalition’s efforts come at a time when the UK government has repeatedly come under pressure to make standard emissions reporting mandatory for the food industry.
Wai-Chan Chan, MD of The Consumer Goods Forum, said: “Our industry faces wide-ranging challenges and pressures. We are all looking for opportunities to future-proof supply chains, limit the risks of disruption, and ultimately drive growth.
“Our new Common Data Framework is one example of how the CGF supports our members through synchronising industry efforts and sharing best practices. This is a first step to tackling the widespread challenge of inefficient data collection and reporting, paving the way for systematic, industry-wide transformation.”
The CGF said it would continue to refine the framework and its guidance, identify opportunities to align supplier data requests, and connect with cross-industry platforms on data sharing to help retailers.
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