Anton&Anton calculates carbon footprint of ready-made meals

The Carbon footprint of ready-made meals from Anton&Anton is calculated using Biocode’s carbon footprint calculator. Anton&Anton, a Finnish company known for its responsibility, story began in 2008. Initially, the company was known for its focus on seasonal and locally sourced food in its grocery stores, but it now produces ready-made meals that come with a good conscience.

The company utilizes carbon footprint results in various ways, including:

• At events using QR codes.
• On packaging.
• On their website.
• In product development.

The company’s values and growing market demand encouraged to calculate carbon footprints

We started carbon footprint calculations because we wanted to gain an understanding of the environmental impacts of our products. At that time, we didn’t have any data, and adopting Biocode seemed like a logical and easily accessible way to understand the effects of our products.

Linda Forss Friman, Procurement and Sustainability Manager, Anton&Anton

The purpose of carbon footprint calculations has been to set goals for their operations to measure and promote actions in a tangible way. Collaborating with Biocode felt like a good solution because Anton&Anton gained access to an agile online tool that makes it easy to calculate, report, and continuously update the climate impacts of their products. The first assessments were made together with Biocode’s experts, providing confidence in the evaluation process and tool usage.

Now, carbon footprint calculations have been made for ten products, and the goal is to calculate the carbon footprint of all ready-made meals, including those with typically higher footprints. The results are available for everyone to see on Biocode reports.

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There is currently some pressure from various stakeholders to develop operations in a sustainable direction. Laura Kuusela, Sales Director at Anton&Anton, mentions that retail chains haven’t yet demanded these calculations, but the sustainability perspective is on the rise.

We work directly with daily grocery store chains for ready-made meals. So far, such calculations haven’t been required from us, but supplier contracts emphasize sustainability. In the future, we will certainly highlight how much work and choices we make in this regard.

Laura Kuusela, Sales Director, Anton&Anton

Measuring the climate impact and carbon footprint of ready-meals are integrated into daily operations

Most of the carbon footprint calculations are done internally to improve the company’s operations. The results have been used in marketing, such as packaging labels, and in supporting the company’s sustainability communication. It’s important that the calculations are verified by experts to ensure credibility. Therefore, Anton&Anton also directs visitors to their website to Biocode reports to learn more about the carbon footprint results.

The results have also been utilized at the Flow Festival, which places a strong emphasis on sustainability. At the event, a ‘Sustainable Meal‘ competition was held, and the judging panel awarded Anton&Anton extra points for having measured the carbon footprints of their products.

Using Biocode has given us a lot of ‘ah-ha!’ experiences. It has been insightful to use the calculator and see how different raw materials affect the end result. We have learned that rapeseed oil, for example, can increase the carbon footprint of products quite a lot.

Linda Forss Friman, Procurement Manager, Anton&Anton

The results of carbon footprint calculations have identified the most significant sources of emissions in their products. This information is used when developing new products and refining old recipes. The largest impacts come from raw materials, and new packaging options are also under consideration. A potential emissions reduction opportunity is a new production facility that is in the planning stages.