Measure it to master it: harnessing biogenic carbon data for sustainable agriculture innovation

What’s new? Uncovering your product’s carbon origin story

A PCF measures all emissions associated with the production of a product from cradle-to-gate (i.e. from sourcing to manufacture). They can help to identify any emissions hotspots to allow brands to take targeted action.

But not all carbon is the same. Renewable materials, such as biobased feedstocks, have a distinct advantage over nonrenewable materials when it comes to minimising climate impact: they avoid the additive effect of virgin fossil materials on atmospheric Greenhouse Gas (GHG) levels. 

Knowing the origin of the carbon contained within a product, therefore, allows for a better understanding of the potential downstream Scope 3 emissions that will be emitted when it eventually breaks down. This is where total carbon content comes in. Measured as carbon units per unit of product (such as kg C/kg), it describes the total physical carbon contained within a product and can be divided into subcategories, including:

• Biobased carbon content - The physical carbon contained in the product that is derived from living organisms. This is used to calculate the biobased percentage of the material (biobased carbon content divided by total carbon content) as well as biogenic carbon removals.
• Fossil carbon content - The physical carbon contained in the product that is fossil-derived (or petrochemical), which is non-renewable. 
• Recycled carbon content - The physical carbon contained in the product that is from recycled sources, such as recycled plastics.
• Carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) content - The physical carbon contained in the product that is from CCU. This is carbon captured from the atmosphere artificially (using technology) and then converted into useful materials. 

Of these, it’s important to note that fossil carbon content is the only non-renewable source. 

What is biogenic carbon?

Biogenic carbon refers to carbon sequestered by biobased materials (specifically plants via photosynthesis) during growth and released as carbon dioxide or methane when they break down at the end of life. When released, these emissions will be reabsorbed by future plants during their growth. This cycle happens on ‘human’ timescales, and so there is no overall net impact on atmospheric GHG levels over the lifecycle.

By contrast, fossil-derived materials release carbon emissions that have a much longer lifecycle, with millions of years involved in their creation and geological storage. The fossil-derived carbon that is released therefore, only adds to atmospheric GHG levels.  

To account for the benefit of sequestered carbon contained in biobased materials, we can calculate the biobased carbon content of a material and, from this, deduce how much CO₂ was absorbed from the atmosphere during its growth. This is a biogenic CO₂ removal, which can be indicated on a PCF statement as a negative value in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) units per unit of product (such as kgCO2e/kg).

Why does biogenic carbon data matter for sustainable agriculture?

Every agricultural product—from crop protection products to soil health enhancers—carries a carbon footprint shaped by its life cycle, from raw material sourcing to final application. As global markets move toward a low-carbon economy, the ability to measure and manage these impacts becomes a critical differentiator for agri-businesses.

One key factor in accurate carbon accounting is biogenic carbon. Without including biogenic carbon in Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) calculations, bio-based materials may appear to have similar—or even higher—carbon footprints than fossil-derived alternatives. This is partly because petrochemical processes have benefited from decades of optimisation and economies of scale, making them highly efficient on paper, but also because the scope of a PCF (cradle-to-gate) does not account for the downstream release of the fossil carbon contained in a material at end-of-life.

However, when biogenic carbon removals and emissions are properly accounted for—acknowledging the CO₂ absorbed during biomass growth—the climate advantage of bio-based materials becomes clear. This transparency strengthens the integrity of PCF reporting and provides a richer dataset for decision-making.

For agriculture professionals, these insights enable a more strategic balance between product performance, sustainability, and cost. They also lay the groundwork for compliance with tightening global standards and position your portfolio for long-term competitiveness in a market increasingly driven by sustainability credentials.

As the Ag industry evolves, proactive carbon management isn’t just good practice—it’s essential for future-proofing your business and leading the change toward a more sustainable agricultural supply chain.

Aligning with Together for Sustainability: measurement as a competitive edge

Within the chemical market, Together for Sustainability (TfS) is redefining expectations for supplier data transparency and carbon reporting across the value chain. Their methodology aligns with relevant ISO standards [1] (including ISO14044:2006 and ISO14067:2019) and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and ensures convergence with the new World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Partnership for Carbon Transparency (PACT) v3.0 framework [2] used by many brands worldwide.

By aligning with widely accepted global initiatives, TfS is helping to work towards a consistent standard within the chemical industry. This will be vital for the simplicity and comparability of PCFs moving forwards, allowing brands to trust that the quality of data and methods of calculations used by their suppliers are comparable and representative of methods used by their own in-house teams.

Croda’s PCF method is highly aligned with TfS Product Carbon Footprint Guidance v3.0 (2024). By proactively integrating biogenic removals and carbon content subcategories into our PCF calculations, Croda is preparing for mandatory updates expected in 2025 and 2027—helping our customers to turn insights into a competitive edge and bolstering today’s efforts to advance sustainability.

Croda’s methodology was third-party verified prior to the addition of biogenic data in November 2025 and will be reassessed in 2026 for renewed verification.

From measurement to mastery: cross-functional impacts of biogenic and total carbon data

PCF insights empower brands to design products with a lower carbon impact, supporting informed innovation and climate-conscious choices alongside the high performance consumers expect. 

Croda’s “Measure it to Master it” initiative embodies this concept. By calculating more than 500 PCFs across our agriculture portfolio, Croda Agriculture and our customers gain visibility to identify emissions hotspots and take targeted action to reduce environmental impact, enabling informed decisions across the value chain. But what does this mean for innovators?

Formulators: designing for climate impact in agriculture

For formulation scientists in agriculture, “Measure it to Master it” means you can now integrate climate metrics into your development process with the same rigor as performance attributes. Beyond product efficacy, stability, and cost, you can factor in Product Carbon Footprint (PCF)—including biogenic CO₂ removals—when designing solutions for sustainable farming.

This holistic view enables you to:

• Identify lower-impact ingredients that match or exceed current performance
• Optimise formulation chassis for maximal carbon savings
• Products future-proofed for sustainability regulations, claims, and transparency

By mastering ingredient-level data, formulators can sequence decarbonisation efforts, prioritising high-impact swaps before tackling smaller-volume ingredients. This strategic approach delivers measurable carbon wins early in the product lifecycle, building momentum for more nuanced refinements, thereby ensuring your formulations remain competitive, compliant, and aligned with global sustainability standards.

Purchasing: managing Scope 3.1 emissions in supply chains

Procurement specialists, armed with biogenic PCF data, can transform supplier engagement into a strategic tool for risk reduction and long-term value creation, ensuring commercial viability. Measuring each ingredient’s carbon footprint enables you to:

• Source products that meet corporate sustainability targets, alongside meeting quality, inventory, and budgetary requirements
• Negotiate clear, quantitative upstream Scope 3.1 reduction targets with suppliers
• Leverage data for long-term risk reduction and legislative compliance

While our customers benefit from increased upstream transparency in emissions data to complement their cost and performance analysis, transparent carbon requirements enable deeper collaboration with suppliers for feedstock sourcing, processing efficiencies, and joint innovation.

Sustainability professionals: driving progress towards targets

Ingredient-level PCFs feed directly into decarbonisation roadmaps, internal dashboards, and corporate reporting. By incorporating PCFs into Scope 3 carbon accounting, sustainability teams can:

• Gain deeper data granularity to assist in meeting annual reporting requirements
• Understand progress made against the company's sustainability targets
• Target high-impact ingredient categories
• Prepare for advanced disclosures required by emerging regulations like the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive

Mastery of this data transforms reporting from a compliance checkbox into a strategic narrative, showcasing concrete, ingredient-scale achievements in carbon reduction.

References:

[1] Together for Sustainability (2024) TfS PCF Guidelines 2024

[2] Together for Sustainability (2025) TfS launches updated version (v3.0) of the TfS PCF Data Model to advance carbon transparency