Products that receive the Low Synthetic Inputs attribute are created with practices that minimize the use of these damaging inputs.
HowGood is an independent research company and SaaS sustainability intelligence platform with the world’s largest database on food product sustainability. For 18 years, HowGood has focused exclusively on agricultural production research and mapping global food systems. With over 90,000 agricultural emissions factors, HowGood’s database enables the food industry to accurately measure, reduce, and communicate the impact of their products. HowGood’s SaaS platform delivers automated and auditable sustainability data to some of the world’s largest food companies to power their product carbon footprinting, corporate carbon accounting, impact reduction initiatives, and strategic sourcing decisions. Visit howgood.com for more information.
HowGood has more than 18 years of research on global food supply chains. The team consolidates and analyzes findings from over 600 accredited data sources and certifications. These include a range of resources such as international frameworks, NGO guidance and standards reports, peer reviewed life cycle assessment studies, journal articles, academic conference proceedings and texts, aggregated commercial databases, targeted industry studies, NGO research, government publications, and news reports from reputable outlets. HowGood employs the most industry-recognized methodologies and incorporates the latest scientific research. Metrics and impact assessments are updated on an ongoing, iterative basis, making HowGood’s platform the leading-edge tool for product sustainability. In turn, HowGood is able to provide impact assessments that are accurate, comprehensive, and the most up-to-date. Through HowGood’s sustainability intelligence platform, Latis, we are able to scale this approach across products, brands, and the entire food industry.
Synthetic inputs are petroleum derived fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and other synthetic chemicals commonly used in the agriculture space today, along with prophylactic antibiotics common in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). These chemicals emit many greenhouse gasses and can damage the surrounding environment when used inefficiently. HowGood’s Low Synthetic Inputs attribute recognizes products created with practices that minimize the use of these damaging inputs.
Products that qualify for Low Synthetic Inputs receive access to the attribute for public-facing communications for one year. At the end of the annual contract, products must be reassessed based on the current industry benchmark to re-qualify.
The Low Synthetic Inputs attribute provides consumers with a clear indicator of how sustainable a product is with respect to the synthetic materials used in the making of the product. It’s easy-to-digest and guides consumers toward more sustainable purchases. The Low Synthetic Inputs attribute empowers shoppers to make decisions that are in line with their values and preferences. By purchasing Low Synthetic Inputs products, consumers know the product was made with fewer synthetic inputs than conventional products.
HowGood assesses the conventional growing practices for each crop in our database of ingredients, chemicals, and materials. Using this data, we identify commodities that can be harvested with minimal synthetic inputs. Under conventional conditions, this list is very limited. So we also assess the standards of common food certifications (such as USDA Organic and Fair for Life) and track their policies on synthetic inputs. By looking at the conventional growing conditions as well as any standards or certifications achieved by a product, we can assess which products are created with low synthetic inputs.
The research team at HowGood uses over 25 food certification standards as well as production guides from USDA extension services and commodity co-ops.
USDA Organic
Fair Trade USA
Fair Trade International
Fair For Life
UTZ
Non-GMO
Rainforest Alliance
Land to Market
100% Grass Fed
Regenerative Organic
RSPO
RTRS - ProTerra - CRS
Forestry: PEFC-SFI-FSC
GAP 4
GAP 5+
MSC
RAIZ
GAP 1
GAP 2
GAP 3
Certified Humane
No Antibiotics Ever
Nature & Progrès
Demeter
EU Bio
AB organic farming
Sustainable fishing technique
Red Label
CSA
Cage-free
