Nearly half of UK food and drink firms have used carbon data to win or retain business, a new report shows.

The findings, from carbon management platform Zevero, stem from a survey of 502 senior decision-makers at UK companies with 100 or more employees.

Carbon data refers to the emissions figures a business produces, such as its total footprint and the footprint of individual products. For food and beverage companies, these figures draw on ingredients, agricultural supply chains, packaging, manufacturing, energy use and logistics, alongside information submitted by suppliers.

Beyond cost savings, Zevero said carbon data is already helping food and beverage brands compete.

44% reported their organisation has successfully used it to win or retain a customer, contract, or tender during the past two years, while almost a third (30%) have used it to “secure investment or financing”. 

Food and drinks businesses estimate that credible emissions data was required for nearly two in five (39%) of the commercial opportunities they pursued in the past year, and almost three quarters of leaders (74%) expect that share to increase over the next three years.

Despite the cost motive, the food and beverage sector is less likely to build carbon data into the decisions that shape day-to-day operations. Almost a quarter (24%) say it does not regularly influence their decisions on selecting suppliers, designing products, or operational planning, compared with 10% in other sectors. 

Nearly three quarters of food and drink companies (74%) are confident in the accuracy of carbon data, compared with 86% in other sectors. Where figures are incomplete, outdated, inconsistent, or hard to access, 62% say the gaps have contributed to a tender or customer response being weakened or delayed in the past two years, and 60% to an environmental or product claim not being substantiated.

George Wade, co-founder and chief commercial officer at Zevero, said: “Food and drink businesses are already getting real value from carbon data. Most have found savings with it, and many are using it to win and keep customers.

“The opportunity now is to go further: to put figures the business trusts in front of the people choosing suppliers, developing products and planning logistics. That is where the next round of savings, and the next contract wins, will come from.”