In March 2026, the Global Sustainable Transition Alliance (GSTA) was established to address the issue of varying Scope 3 emissions calculations within the food and beverage industry’s supply chains. Led by WRAP and Wageningen University & Research (WUR), this initiative unites businesses, non-profits, consultants, and providers of product footprinting tools. Their shared goal is to create a unified global standard for assessing the environmental impact of individual products.
Integrating with Established Systems
GSTA’s initial focus is on greenhouse gas emissions, aiming to integrate its methods with well-known frameworks such as the GHG Protocol, Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), Partnership for Carbon Transparency (PACT), ISO, and Product Environmental Footprint (PEF). The objective is to enhance these frameworks with more detailed and specific guidelines, enabling more consistent comparisons of product environmental footprints, regardless of the calculating entity.
As companies increasingly rely on supplier-provided environmental data to understand their products’ and supply chains’ impacts, the challenge arises from suppliers using diverse methods and data sources for these calculations. This diversity complicates the task of achieving consistent figures across detailed supply networks, particularly for Scope 3 emissions, which encompass indirect emissions from a company’s value chain.
“The need for uniform data from global suppliers is critical for companies to accurately assess their entire supply chain’s environmental impact (Scope 3). The current situation, where suppliers employ various methods and data sources, results in inconsistent overall figures for the supply chain. GSTA aims to tackle this issue,” stated Koen Boone, Coordinator of Sustainable Value Chains at WUR.
Supporting Industry Collaboration
Adopting a unified approach could minimize redundant efforts for companies and simplify the identification of areas where environmental actions would be most effective. GSTA does not intend to supplant existing major frameworks but rather to develop a more detailed, sector-specific method that complements them.
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“PACT is proud to be a founding member of GSTA,” remarked Naama Avni-Kadosh, Director, Partnership for Carbon Transparency (PACT) at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. “Global supply chains inherently cross industry boundaries, so credible carbon data has to as well. Sector initiatives like GSTA add the specificity that food and beverage companies need, while PACT provides the common data infrastructure that keeps those efforts interoperable.”
Founding members of the alliance include Ahold Delhaize, Schwarz Group companies, Mars, Incorporated, Mondra, Mondra Coalition, Global Changer, Inoqo, European Sustainable Food Coalition, PACT, Systain Coalition, HowGood, and Foodsteps. GSTA is actively seeking additional industry partners to join and contribute to the new standard’s development.
“It has been hugely exciting to partner with Wageningen University & Research to establish this alliance for the food and beverage sector,” said Sofie Schop, Executive Director, EU & Global Partnerships Director at WRAP. “By joining GSTA and our leading founding members, your business will be part of the first global industry-wide alliance to develop a single global footprinting standard.”
This initiative is backed by international NGOs, including Consumers International and PACT. If successful, it could offer food and beverage companies a more reliable foundation for comparing product-level environmental impacts and utilizing this data to drive emissions reduction strategies.
GSTA’s current priority is to secure broad industry involvement, ensuring the final methodology meets the diverse needs of businesses across the global food and beverage supply chain.