Flavours and fragrances: Emissions

Why a flavour's footprint lies mostly on the farm

Why a flavour's footprint lies mostly on the farm What this tab covers The greenhouse-gas footprint per tonne, split by lifecycle phase (feedstock, production, movement, use, end of life), the global total, other environmental impacts, levers and low-carbon routes, India's position, and where the investment opportunity lies.

Per t of compound or ingredient, cradle-to-gate. Intensity: not published. Global total: not published.

Footprint by lifecycle phase

Phase	Intensity	Share	Main sources of emissions	Notes	Source
Feedstock	not published	–	crop farming (fertiliser, land use, distillation fuel) and petrochemicals; Givaudan says scope 3 dominates its footprint and has been stabilised		Givaudan 2025
Production / process	not published	–	multi-step synthesis, distillation, solvents	Givaudan cut scope 1+2 emissions 50% from 2015 and switched to 100% renewable electricity in 2024	Givaudan 2025
Movement	not published	–	container and some air freight		indicative
Use	not published	–	fragrances evaporate as VOCs or wash to drains	fragrance VOCs contribute to urban ozone (indicative)	indicative
End of life	not applicable	–	consumed or dispersed	persistent musks found in wastewater (indicative)	indicative

Other environmental impacts

Land and water use for crops; wood fuel for field distillation in India and Madagascar; aquatic toxicity of some synthetic musks; deforestation risk for some naturals.

Levers to cut emissions

Renewable power at plants: Givaudan reached 100% renewable electricity in 2024 and targets net zero across its value chain by 2045 (Givaudan)
Biotech routes to molecules now made by multi-step synthesis or from scarce crops (indicative)
Cleaner field distillation (solar or biomass boilers) for Indian mint and spice oils (indicative)
Upcycled side-streams (citrus peel, pulp turpentine) as feedstock (indicative)

India

India's F&F footprint is not published. The material emissions are at farms and field distillation units for mint and spices, which often burn wood or crop residue (indicative).

Emission figures are indicative global averages from the life-cycle studies named; actual footprints vary widely by site, energy mix and method.

Low-carbon routes

Route	Intensity	Cost premium	Status	Source
Fermentation-derived aroma molecules	not published	higher for most molecules (indicative)	commercial for some molecules at the big houses (indicative)	indicative

For a climate investor F&F is small in tonnes and emissions, so the climate case is indirect. The opportunities are biotech molecules that replace petrochemical or land-intensive ingredients, clean distillation for Indian smallholder crops, and Indian aroma chemical makers that win share from China with cleaner processes. What has to be true: big houses and consumer goods brands pay for lower scope 3 per kg, as Givaudan's 2045 net-zero target implies.