As of December 2025, HowGood’s methodology has achieved a significant expansion of its certification by the Carbon Trust. Our product carbon footprinting methodology is now certified by the Carbon Trust from Cradle-to-Grave, moving beyond the previous Cradle-to-Gate certification.
This update represents the highest standard of rigor and governance in carbon footprinting and brings several key benefits to you, our valued customers.
Access HowGood’s Product Carbon Footprint Methodology and Governance, Version 4.0 documentation
What Does the Carbon Trust Cradle-to-Grave Certification Mean?
The Carbon Trust certification provides third-party assurance that our methodology for calculating product carbon footprints (PCFs) is aligned with global standards like ISO 14067 and the GHG Protocol.
Expanded Scope (Cradle-to-Grave): Previously, HowGood’s certification covered emissions from raw material sourcing up to the manufacturing gate. The new certification now validates the methodology for the entire lifecycle of a product—from the sourcing of raw materials ("cradle") through manufacturing, distribution, retail, use, and final disposal ("grave").
Methodological Governance: The certification process involves placing our methodology under the governance of a third party (the Carbon Trust). This requires running changes—including updates driven by industry evolution—by the certifier, ensuring unparalleled rigor and credibility.
Benefits for HowGood Customers
This expanded, third-party certification offers tangible advantages for Latis users:
Increased Stakeholder Confidence: External assurance from the Carbon Trust means your data, calculations, and underlying assumptions are globally validated, increasing trust among investors, consumers, and regulators.
Reduced Reputational & Legal Risk: Utilizing a third-party certified methodology minimizes the risk associated with inaccurate reporting or needing to change reports when global standards evolve.
Streamlined Audit & Assurance: Our certified methodology provides a smooth path for your internal and external audit processes, demonstrating inherent alignment with global standards.
Industry Alignment: Our methodology is now fully aligned with the most recent standards and best practices, reflecting the maturation of the sustainability industry.
Key Methodology Changes in 2025
As part of this evolved certification, our methodology has undergone several updates, reflecting current industry best practices and global standards (like ISO 14067).
All changes are included in the Change Log in Section 5 of our updated Methodology and Governance document. The key updates are below:
Biogenic Emissions are Now Separate
This is the most significant change impacting your Product Carbon Footprints (PCFs).
What Changed: In response to updated industry alignment, Biogenic CO2 emissions (carbon absorbed and released by biological materials in a short-term cycle, such as growing and harvesting crops or using biomass fuel) are now broken out and declared separately from the core cradle-to-gate and cradle-to-grave footprint values.
The Impact: For most products, especially those with high biogenic content (like products containing meat, dairy, produce, or sugarcane), this will generally result in a lower published cradle-to-manufacturing gate PCF value.
Biogenic emissions are now accounted for as a separate transaction where emissions and removals net out to zero. This is in line with the latest standard interpretations.
Inclusion of Facilities Data
We can now properly reflect novel manufacturing processes by including primary data from your specific manufacturing facilities. This detailed primary data is rolled up into your final Cradle-to-Grave certified carbon footprints.
Expanded and Assured Data Quality Scoring (DQS)
Our Data Quality Scoring is now assured by the Carbon Trust. It is broken out at every relevant stage of the product life cycle, providing enhanced transparency and granular detail on the quality of the underlying data.
Direct Land Use Change (DLUC)
Our methodology provides improved tracking and reporting for Direct Land Use Change (DLUC). For certain commodities, we can reflect different land use change standards (e.g., S-LUC, JDLUC, and DLUC), displayed via clear naming conventions in the application.
Additional changes
New Circular Economy Focus:
Implemented the Circular Footprint Formula (CFF) for precise modeling of recycled content and end-of-life.
Ingredient Concentration:
Now called Allocation Ratio (AR)
Stricter Scope (“Cut-Off Rules”):
100% of all labeled ingredients must now be accounted for.
Fugitive Emissions Included:
We include an option to account for fugitive emissions (like leaks from refrigerants) during the manufacturing process
Guidance on Carbon Removals:
We now have formal guidance on how to calculate and handle carbon removals (e.g., carbon sequestration in soil) using primary data.
Expanded Data Quality Scoring (DQS):
DQS now breaks down the score by specific stages, such as Land Use Change or Retailer stage
Stronger External Assurance:
The entire methodology is now subject to annual limited assurance by the Carbon Trust
Product Example: Before and After
Sugarcane is one of the materials most substantially impacted by the update, given the high proportion of biogenic emissions. Most products will not change as substantially.
Guidance on SBTI and Re-baselining
The methodology update may lead to changes in your base year emissions numbers. HowGood has worked closely with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to provide clear, standardized guidance. Additional documentation is forthcoming; see below for initial guidance:
Re-baselining: Re-baselining of your SBTs is only required if your methodological change results in more than a 5% difference year-on-year.
Declaration: If the difference is minor, SBTi recommends declaring the change in your public reporting (e.g., "2% of our reduction is due to methodological changes in biogenic emissions accounting").
Best Practice: SBTi's best-in-class practice is to re-baseline your base year every year with the current methodology. This keeps your base year aligned with the latest science, and all reported changes are clearly shown as real reductions in your supply chain. We encourage this practice, and we are working with SBTi on published guidance to help address any concerns about number revision.
Need More Information?
For technical questions about the specifics of the methodology changes (especially around Land Use Change), please reach out to your Customer Success Manager, who can connect you with our Research and Data teams as needed.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What does the expanded "Cradle-to-Grave" scope mean?
The scope of our certified methodology now covers the entire lifecycle of a product:
Cradle: Sourcing and processing of all raw materials (e.g., agriculture, mining, extraction).
Grave: Distribution, retail, consumer use, and end-of-life disposal/recycling.
This comprehensive scope gives you confidence that your reported PCFs cover the complete environmental profile of your products.
How is this new certification different from the previous one?
Previously, HowGood’s methodology was certified by the Carbon Trust only for the Cradle-to-Gate phase. While this was already a strong third-party validation, the new certification validates the methodology for the entire product lifecycle—Cradle-to-Grave. This expansion required methodological updates, further ensuring our alignment with the highest and most current industry standards.
Will this change my existing Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) numbers?
For some products, yes. The most common change will be a reduction in the Cradle-to-Manufacturing Gate value, especially for products containing ingredients with high biogenic emissions (e.g., sugarcane, meat, dairy, or certain produce).
This reduction is due to the new accounting rule where biogenic emissions are now declared separately and excluded from the core footprint. For every product, the new value will be proportional to the amount of biogenic material it contains.
The changes will be reflected in the product history time-series graph.
Why are biogenic emissions now broken out? Is this good or bad?
This is generally considered a positive change and is in alignment with updated thinking from global bodies like ISO 14067.
Why the Change: The industry consensus, which HowGood has adopted, is that carbon absorbed and released by biological materials in a short-term cycle should be accounted for separately. This keeps your core footprint focused on non-biological (fossil fuel and other industrial) greenhouse gas emissions.
Reception: Companies that rely on biogenic materials (like sugar producers) are typically aware of these emissions and view this change favorably, as it reduces their core reported footprint number.
What if I want to include primary data from my manufacturing facilities?
Our updated methodology formally supports the inclusion of primary data from your manufacturing facilities (e.g., energy consumption, fuel usage). This allows us to reflect novel manufacturing processes accurately and roll this primary data directly into your final, certified Cradle-to-Grave PCFs.
What is the difference between biogenic emissions that are carved out and those from land management?
Biogenic emissions are broadly related to living things absorbing and releasing carbon. The treatment depends on the cycle length:
Carved Out Biogenic Emissions: These are the emissions that are declared separately and excluded from your core footprint (effectively netting to zero). This applies to emissions from materials that are bound up in a short-term cycle (e.g., olive wood used to fuel an oil press, or the carbon in sugarcane). These materials absorb carbon while growing and release it when used. These are accounted for fully separately from the main fossil fuel footprint.
Land Management Emissions: The carbon absorbed and released during the annual process of growing and harvesting crops (land management) is currently not reported separately in our current metrics. Since the carbon removal (growing) and release (harvesting) happen within a single year's cycle, they naturally net out to zero. This practice is aligned with current guidelines from SBTI, Greenhouse Gas Protocol, and ISO 14067.
What has changed regarding the tracking of Land Use Change (LUC), like jdLUC?
HowGood’s updated methodology provides better tracking and formal guidance for different types of Land Use Change (LUC), including the controversial but important area of Direct Land Use Change (dLUC).
Ability to Reflect Multiple Standards: We now have the ability to reflect different land use change standards, such as sLUC (Statistical Land Use Change), jdLUC (Jurisdictional Direct Land Use Change), and dLUC (Direct Land Use Change.
Visibility: The specific type of land use change data applied will be reflected via naming conventions within the supplied material in Latis. Users will see specific LUC numbers in the relevant metric space.
Technical Detail: This area is highly technical and can be very specific to certain commodities. If you have detailed questions about the application of jdLUC or other land use change metrics for your products, please consult your Customer Success Manager who can bring in an expert from our Research or Data team.
Will I need to take any action during the transition period?
The transition and recalculation will be handled by our team. All accounts will be transitioned on January 7, 2026 date, unless your team is in direct communication with your Customer Success Manager to schedule a different date.
Once complete, the new metrics will be visible in your Latis environment, and all PCF and methodology downloads will reflect the updated, certified numbers.