October 2008
Carbon Footprint for British Sugar
produced in addition to sugar, such as
animal feed, bioethanol, topsoil, etc.
Pelletised Seeds Input
CULTIVATION AND HARVESTING
Harvested Sugar Beet
Sugar Beet Tops Co-product
Specialist Work Delivered by North
Energy
TRANSPORT FIELD TO PLANT
PROCESSING
Surplus Electricity Sales
North Energy delivered the requirements
of the brief over a nine month timescale,
with the following outputs:
COMBINED HEAT AND POWER PLANT

WASHING
SLICING AND DIFFUSION
WASTE WATER TREATMENT
Topsoil/Stones Co-products
ANIMAL FEED PROCESSING


Animal Feed Co-products
PURIFICATION, FILTRATION, CRYSTALLISATION

SUGAR
CO -PRODUCTS

LCA of UK grown Sugar
Increasingly, consumers are
becoming more aware of the
environmental impact of their
purchases but need more
information to help them make the
right choices. To meet this demand,
PAS 2050 greenhouse gas (GHG)
methodology has been developed.
British Sugar were invited to be one
of the pilot companies to assist in its
development. Based on a long and
successful relationship, North Energy
were appointed to undertake carbon
footprinting for British Sugar.
method is required. PAS 2050 is a
Publicly Available Specification
developed by the British Standards
Institution and sponsored by the
Carbon Trust and Department for
Environment Food and Rural Affairs.
Its aim is to be the single standard
method for the assessment of the life
cycle GHG emissions of goods and
services. It involves the analysis of a
product’s supply chain including
production, use and disposal. It
enables a company to analyse its
carbon emissions so that it can focus
efforts to reduce emissions.
Life Cycle Assessment Background
There are currently a number of
different methodologies available to
calculate GHG emissions of products
or processes which provide quite
different results. To enable
products to be compared on a likefor-like basis, a standardised robust
The Client
British Sugar is recognised
internationally as one of the most
efficient and progressive sugar
manufacturers in Europe. From the
core feedstock of UK-grown sugar
beet, a variety of products are


Undertook analysis of British Sugar
process flow enabling development of
process flow charts and establishment
of detailed data requirements.
Worked collaboratively with Carbon
Trust to develop possible
methodologies for PAS 2050.
Allocated GHG emissions between
products based on their market value.
Calculated the weighting of GHGs to
electricity exported to the grid from
the combined heat and power plants.
Produced a series of MS Excel
workbooks for each plant, exploring the
PAS 2050 methodology.
Produced a cradle-to-factory gate
assessment of all products produced,
including: cultivation, transportation of
all inputs, and processing stages at
British Sugar’s four British Plants:
Wissington, Bury St Edmunds, Cantley
and Newark.
Produced a final GHG emission figure of
the weighted average of all plants.
North Energy has worked for a number of
years with wide range of commercial and
industrial clients, as well as government
departments to produce life cycle
assessments of products, including
biofuels, adopting various established
methodologies and, as such, have a
specialist knowledge and in depth practical
understanding of carbon footprinting.
www.britishsugar.co.uk
www.carbontrust.co.uk