⚙️UP Scorecard methodology

The UP Scorecard scores the human health and environmental impacts of generic foodware and food packaging items that represent commonly used products in the food service industry. Products are scored in six impact areas (shown below), which are referred to as “metrics”.

The mix of quantitative and qualitative metrics used within the scorecard was developed through collaboration and consultation with many experts in the areas of environmental impact assessment, sustainable procurement, material circularity, chemical toxicology, and plastic pollution.

• 3 standardized life cycle assessment (LCA) metrics are applied that measure impacts from production to disposal:

A quantitative estimate of the life cycle global warming impact of the product. Expressed in grams of CO2 equivalents.

A quantitative estimate of the consumptive use of surface and groundwater during the product's life cycle. This is commonly referred to as Blue Water Use, and it is expressed in liters of water used.

A quantitative estimate of the mass of plastic that enters the environment due to the production, use, recycling, and disposal of the product. Expressed in grams of plastic.

• 3 qualitative metrics are applied based on novel scoring approaches:

A qualitative rating that recognizes sustainable forestry and agricultural production, and the use of post-consumer recycled content. This metric takes advantage of existing material certifications that promote sustainable resource management. All materials are ranked in one of five performance tiers.

A qualitative rating that represents the likelihood for the product to be reused, recycled, or composted. This depends on the availability of recycling and composting infrastructure, and also the product design. It leverages existing design guides to improve material recoverability. All products are categorized into one of five performance tiers.

A composite qualitative rating that indicates (1) whether the product is free of one or more tiered lists of chemicals of concern to be avoided based on human and environmental health hazards, (2) the quality of the information used to support such a claim, (3) the propensity of chemicals to migrate from the material into food, and (4) the interaction between food and material.

Life Cycle Assessment

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a scientifically accepted tool to assess and compare the environmental impacts of products and services over their entire life, i.e. from cradle to grave.

In short, materials are made from raw resources (like oil, ores, and plants), which are then transformed into technical materials (like plastics, metals, and paper). These technical materials are processed into parts or components that are later assembled into products. The products are then used by consumers before they are eventually disposed of or reused.

At each of these life cycle stages (production, use, disposal), energy and materials are consumed (resource input), and emissions to air, water, and soil are generated (waste output). Both inputs and outputs can have a direct impact on the environment and humans. These impacts can be quantified by metrics, such as the CO2 footprint (climate change indicator), water usage, or eco-toxicity.

To use LCA successfully, in particular when comparing the impacts of two different products, it is important to carefully define the functional units and the system boundaries that apply.

Functional unit & boundaries

For the quantitative life cycle metrics used in the UP Scorecard (Plastic Pollution, Climate Impact, Water Use), results are presented based on a foodware or packaging product in a standard size (functional unit) that depends on the use case:

In the approach used by the UP Scorecard, the impacts from recycling (sorting, transport, and reclamation) are assigned to the product that makes use of the recovered material. When a foodware item is recycled into a new material or product, the impacts from recycling are assigned to the new product using the cutoff method. This method treats recycling impacts like a raw material supply system rather than as waste management. If recycling has lower impacts than making new materials, then products with recycled content will usually have lower impacts too.

Novel scoring approaches

When assessing the sustainability of foodware and food packaging, some important impacts that are hard to measure such as the circularity of a product and human toxicity, are poorly covered by conventional LCA indicators. To complement existing LCA indicators and account for these impacts, the UP Scorecard developed its own scoring approach with 3 new metrics: