Plant-Based Proteins

Material Composition Assumptions

Plant-based proteins span a wide spectrum of product sophistication — from minimally processed whole legumes (lentils, chickpeas, edamame) through tofu and tempeh to highly engineered meat analogues (Beyond Burger, Impossible Burger, plant-based chicken nuggets, vegan sausages). The CCI score of 2.0 kgCO2e/kg is a weighted average across this range, reflecting the retail mix that includes both simple legume-based products and more processed meat alternatives.

Key ingredient and processing inputs include:

• Soy protein isolate or concentrate: The dominant protein source for meat analogues in North America and parts of Asia. Derived from defatted soy flour via alkaline extraction and acid precipitation. Soy cultivation contributes N2O soil emissions and carries LUC risk if sourced from deforestation-risk regions, though most branded plant-based protein manufacturers use certified non-deforestation soy.
• Pea protein isolate: Increasingly common in Western market meat alternatives (Beyond Meat, Roquette). Peas are a nitrogen-fixing legume, reducing synthetic fertiliser requirements and often improving soil health. Pea protein isolation involves water extraction and drying, with lower land-use intensity than soy per kg of protein.
• Wheat gluten (vital wheat gluten / seitan): Used in traditional and Asian plant-based products (mock duck, seitan sausages). High protein density; wheat cultivation uses moderate fertiliser, and gluten extraction is energy-intensive (alkaline washing, centrifugation, drying).
• Textured vegetable protein (TVP) / textured soy protein (TSP): Extruded soy or pea-based protein for mince and chunk applications. Extrusion is a high-pressure, high-temperature continuous process requiring approximately 3–8 MJ/kg of finished product.
• Methylcellulose, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC): Used as binders and gelling agents in meat analogues to improve texture during cooking. Derived from wood pulp via chemical modification; relatively minor mass contribution but notable processing footprint per kg.
• Coconut oil, sunflower oil, or shea fat: Used to replicate the mouthfeel and cooking behaviour of animal fat. Contributes approximately 10–15% of finished product mass in burger patties.
• Natural flavourings, haem analogues (leghemoglobin for Impossible products), vitamins (B12, iron, zinc): Minor mass contributions but complex supply chains, particularly for recombinant proteins produced via fermentation.
• Packaging: Chilled meat alternatives typically use MAP (modified atmosphere packaging) tray formats — CPET, PP, or EPS trays with barrier film lidding — or flexible vacuum pouches. Shelf-stable products (dried TVP, canned beans) use tin or aluminium cans or paper-lined pouches. Packaging adds approximately 0.3–0.6 kgCO2e/kg of product.

Why the Score Is What It Is

Plant-based proteins are consistently substantially lower in lifecycle GHG emissions than their animal-protein counterparts — typically 60–90% lower than beef and 30–60% lower than pork and chicken on a per-kg basis. The 2.0 kgCO2e/kg average reflects this significant advantage while acknowledging that more processed meat analogues carry higher processing footprints than minimally processed legumes.

Agricultural ingredients (~40% of total) are the primary upstream driver. Even for high-protein crops like soy and peas, the carbon intensity is orders of magnitude lower than animal feed systems because there is no intermediary animal converting feed to protein at poor efficiency. Soy cultivation in the USA or EU carries approximately 0.3–0.6 kgCO2e/kg of raw beans; pea cultivation in France or Canada carries approximately 0.2–0.5 kgCO2e/kg. After protein isolation and concentration, the ingredient footprint per kg of protein delivered rises to approximately 0.8–2.0 kgCO2e/kg protein — still well below animal protein systems.

Processing (~25% of Scope 2) is the distinguishing factor between minimally processed and engineered products. Whole canned legumes require only cleaning, blanching, and canning (approximately 0.5–1.0 MJ/kg). High-moisture extrusion for fibrous meat-textured protein (chicken-like texture) requires 10–20 MJ/kg and sophisticated processing equipment. Fermented products (tempeh) use microbiological rather than thermal processes, with lower energy intensity but longer production cycles. The plant-based burger category (Beyond Meat, Impossible) involves protein isolation, extrusion, mixing, forming, and freezing — with a total processing energy footprint of approximately 2–5 MJ/kg of patty.

Packaging (~20% of Scope 3) is proportionally higher than for whole-food categories because chilled meat alternatives require barrier packaging to maintain freshness, and branded products often use premium presentation formats with higher material intensity than generic alternatives.

Ingredient additives (~10%) reflect the complexity of formulated meat analogues. Methylcellulose, coconut fat, natural flavourings, and micronutrient premixes each contribute supply chain emissions at low mass but sometimes high per-kg emission factors. Recombinant soy leghemoglobin (Impossible’s heme-like ingredient, produced via yeast fermentation) is produced in relatively small quantities but has not yet been fully characterised by third-party LCA.

What Drives Variation

Product type drives the largest intra-category variation. Whole dried legumes (lentils, chickpeas, black beans) at ~0.7–1.2 kgCO2e/kg sit at the bottom of the range. Simple tofu at ~1.5–2.5 kgCO2e/kg sits near the category average. Engineered plant-based burgers and sausages at 3.0–5.0 kgCO2e/kg sit at the upper end — still 5–10x lower than beef but 2–3x higher than tofu. Tempeh, fermented from whole soybeans, typically falls at 1.5–2.5 kgCO2e/kg.

Ingredient origin and certification is particularly important for soy-based products. Non-certified soy from deforestation-risk areas (particularly Brazilian Cerrado frontier) can add 0.5–2.0 kgCO2e/kg of product through land-use change allocation. Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods both publicly commit to certified non-GMO, non-deforestation soy sourcing — a material supply chain risk mitigation.

Protein crop type affects both the agricultural footprint and the processing energy required. Pea protein requires 30–40% less energy for isolation than soy protein isolate due to higher starting protein concentration in peas and different extraction chemistry. Mycoprotein (Quorn) — produced by continuous fermentation of Fusarium venenatum — has a very different supply chain to crop-based alternatives: lower land use but higher electricity consumption for fermentation vessels (~15–20 MJ/kg of mycoprotein).

Processing intensity and scale affect Scope 2 significantly. A large-scale extrusion facility with heat recovery and renewable energy supply can produce textured pea protein at 0.3–0.5 kgCO2e/kg from energy alone. A small-scale craft producer without heat recovery on a coal-heavy grid may produce similar product at 1.5–2.5 kgCO2e/kg from processing alone.

Grid decarbonisation in manufacturing countries will systematically reduce the Scope 2 component over time. The Netherlands and Germany — home to major plant protein processing companies (Roquette, Cosucra, Cargill PODRAVKA) — are on trajectories to significantly reduce grid intensity through renewable buildout.

Packaging format can reduce or increase the packaging footprint substantially. Shelf-stable dried legumes in paper bags or minimal cardboard carry essentially no barrier packaging footprint. Chilled plant-based burgers in MAP trays carry 5–10x more packaging carbon per kg of protein than dried equivalents.

Manufacturing Geography

Plant-based protein processing is geographically concentrated in a small number of regions. Netherlands (Roquette, Cosucra, Meatless) and Germany (Rügenwalder Mühle, Heristo) are major European hubs. USA hosts Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, and large soy-processing infrastructure (ADM, Cargill, Bunge). China is the world’s largest tofu and tempeh producer by volume.

Ingredient sourcing for protein isolates is typically transnational — peas grown in France, Canada, or USA; soybeans in USA, Brazil, or Argentina; wheat grown domestically in most producing regions. Processing facilities are typically co-located with major agricultural commodity hubs or near large retail markets.

Mycoprotein (Quorn) is manufactured at a single large facility in Billingham, UK, with fermenters running continuously at industrial scale. Tempeh production is distributed across Asia and increasingly across Western specialty food markets.

Provenance Override Guidance

Plant-based protein brands and manufacturers can override the default CCI score using:

1. Ingredient origin and crop-level LCA data — particularly soy origin, certification status (non-deforestation), and crop emission factor from Ecoinvent or producer-specific datasets.
2. Processing energy audit per production facility — extrusion electricity and thermal energy per tonne of finished product, with grid emission factor and renewable energy documentation.
3. Packaging material specification per SKU — tray material (PP vs. CPET vs. EPS), lidding film barrier structure, mass per unit, and any certified recycled content.
4. Beyond Meat / Impossible Foods published LCA reports can be used as reference comparators for similar product formats, supplemented by facility-specific energy data.
5. Ecoinvent v3.9 plant protein datasets for tofu, TVP, and mycoprotein as verified reference background data for individual ingredient footprints.

Methodology Notes

• CCI score of 2.0 kgCO2e/kg represents a weighted average across whole legumes, tofu/tempeh, and engineered plant-based meat alternatives, reflecting a retail product mix weighted toward more processed options. Published data spans 0.7 kgCO2e/kg (dried lentils, minimal packaging) to 5.0 kgCO2e/kg (engineered meat analogue, mixed grid processing). This is 83% lower than the equivalent meat-poultry average of 12.0 kgCO2e/kg.
• Scope breakdown: Scope 3 dominates at ~65% (1.3 kgCO2e), driven by agricultural crop inputs and packaging. Scope 2 (processing electricity) is ~25% (0.5 kgCO2e) — higher than most food categories, reflecting the energy intensity of protein isolation and extrusion. Scope 1 (direct thermal energy) is ~10% (0.2 kgCO2e).
• Functional unit: One kilogram of plant-based protein product at retail weight, cradle-to-gate at manufacturing facility (refrigerated distribution and consumer preparation excluded).
• Confidence is medium because the product range spans from near-zero-processing (legumes) to highly engineered meat analogues, and Scope 2 intensity varies significantly with facility size and grid intensity.