Incpen calculates energy footprint of staple foods

The Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (Incpen) has published its findings in a booklet titled Table for One: the energy cost to feed one person.

A total of 18 key food groups, ranging from sugar through to meat, have had their energy consumption calculated and broken down into lifecycle stages.

Eggs, cheese and sugar were found to use the lowest amount of energy to produce packaging at only 0.3MJ per week, compared to soft drinks which use 5.2MJ.

However, Incpen director Jane Bickerstaffe pointed out that soft drinks containers are also the most recycled type of packaging, offsetting the energy used to manufacture the packaging.

“We are trying to put packaging in perspective and understand where we can make a difference,” said Bickerstaffe. “We’d like to do something similar for non-food products as well.”

Incpen’s figures are for energy and not carbon dioxide, therefore waste treatment and disposal are not included and figures may differ from carbon footprints.

Incpen is a research organisation whose members include packaging manufacturers and brands including Amcor Flexibles, Asda, Coca-Cola and more.

FOOD ENERGY (MJ/WEEK)
Energy used to produce packaging and for product from ‘field to fork’ per person (MJ/week)
Bread 1 (24)
Cereals 3.4 (21.9)
Cheese 0.3 (6.3)
Eggs 0.3 (5.2)
Fats and oils 1.1 (8.8)
Fish 1.5 (17)
Fruit (fresh) 1.7 (7.2)
Fruit (produce) 1.2 (5.9)
Potatoes 0.9 (18.3)
Meat 4.9 (104)
Milk 4.4 (38)
Alcohol 2.2 (7.7)
Soft drinks 5.2 (11.4)
Tea and coffee 0.5 (7.3)
Snacks 1 (4.3)
Sugar 0.3 (3.7)
Fresh vegetables 2.6 (18.2)
Vegetables (other) 2.5 (16)

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