Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Datasets
Emissions Factors for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensities for Material Inputs to Australian Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry dataset
The Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensities for Material Inputs to Australian Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry dataset The Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensities for Material Inputs to Australian Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry dataset (current version: V48, March 2026) contains GHG emission intensity values — expressed as kg CO₂-e per unit of product — for over 170 material inputs relevant to Australian agriculture, fisheries and forestry..
It is an authoritative source of factors meeting the requirements of the Australian Government's Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Emission Estimation and Reporting Guidelines (DCCEEW, 2026).
No paywalls | No licensing restrictions | Updated annually
What the dataset covers:
Livestock - beef cattle (for manufacturing, prime beef, and weaners), dairy cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens, with Australian averages as well as state-averages.
Feed - grains, hay, meals, mixed rations, aquaculture feed and specialty inputs like lick blocks and molasses
Fertilisers - a comprehensive range of inorganic fertilisers used in Australia
Pesticides - herbicides, insecticides, fungicides for crops and parasite control for livestock
Soil ameliorants - lime, dolomite, gypsum
Packaging - common packaging materials used in agricultural supply chains
Chemicals - cleaning chemicals
Other inputs - ear tags, netting, seed, seedlings, pallets and more
Each entry includes the emission intensity value, the relevant region of origin, the system boundary (e.g. at market, at manufacturer), a product description and the primary data source.
Where the data comes from
The emission factors are generated from life cycle inventory (LCI) data in the Australian Life Cycle Inventory (AusLCI) database — the principal source of LCI data for products and services produced and consumed in Australia.
AusLCI data are developed using methods compliant with the International Standard for LCA (ISO 14044), undergo peer review by the ALCAS AusLCI committee, and are a compliant source of emission factors for the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
The Carbon Footprint (CF) version of AusLCI has been used to generate the factors in this dataset, linked to background processes developed by Lifecycles specifically to enable unencumbered use of the data.
The dataset was developed by Lifecycles with funding from the Zero Net Emissions Agriculture Cooperative Research Centre (ZNEAg CRC), and benefited from the LCAgMetrics project (2023–2025), a partnership project between Lifecycles and AgriFutures funded by the Australian Government, which expanded and updated agricultural data in the AusLCI database.
Data source and methodology
How the data is built
The methodology behind the dataset follows established LCA standards and conventions:
Attributional modelling — an attributional approach is used to model production systems, assigning emissions based on the physical flows of each process
Market-mix representation — emission intensity values represent a market mix for each product in Australia, where possible, reflecting the actual supply profile
Cradle-to-market boundary — the system boundary for most products is cradle-to-market, capturing all upstream emissions from raw material extraction through to the point the product is available for purchase
Co-product allocation — where a process produces multiple co-products, emissions are assigned to each products based on economic allocation, which is the accepted default allocation method in most LCI databases
Annual updates — the dataset is updated annually following AusLCI database updates, which follow the Australian Government’s National Inventory Report updates
Full methodological documentation, references and definitions are included in the dataset spreadsheet.
Who it’s for
-
Agricultural producers and processors calculating the carbon footprint of their products or operations
-
Government departments developing emissions inventories, policy analysis or climate reporting for the agriculture sector
-
Industry bodies and levy organisations benchmarking emissions performance across sectors
-
Corporate sustainability teams reporting Scope 3 emissions under AASB S2, CSRD, SBTi or Climate Active
-
Researchers and consultants conducting life cycle assessments of Australian agricultural products
-
Food manufacturers and retailers quantifying upstream supply chain emissions for Scope 3 disclosures
Why it matters for Scope 3 reporting
For most agricultural organisations, Scope 3 emissions — the indirect emissions embedded in your value chain — are just as significant as Scope 1 and 2 emissions, sometimes more so.
Reporting frameworks are increasingly including the requirement to report Scope 3. AASB S2 requires Scope 3 disclosure from the second year of reporting. SBTi requires Scope 3 targets when value chain emissions exceed 40% of total. CSRD is creating pressure on Australian exporters through European supply chain obligations. Generic, spend-based emission factors give you a number. This dataset gives you a defensible one — grounded in Australian primary data, ISO-compliant methodology, and peer-reviewed LCI.
The difference matters when your numbers face audit, assurance or customer scrutiny.Need emission factors tailored to your operations?
This dataset provides authoritative national and state-level averages — a strong foundation for Scope 3 reporting. But averages are, by definition, approximations.
If your organisation needs emission factors that reflect your specific supply chain, geography, processes or products, Lifecycles builds custom emission factor datasets grounded in the same rigorous LCA methodology that underpins this national dataset.
Custom datasets replace generic industry averages with defensible, audit-ready values specific to your operations. They’re built to align with the GHG Protocol, ISO 14040/44 and the reporting frameworks your organisation needs to meet — whether that’s AASB S2, CSRD, SBTi, Climate Active, CBAM preparation, or Environmental Product Declarations.
We’ve been developing Australia’s life cycle data infrastructure for over 20 years. The same team that builds AusLCI and this national dataset can build the dataset your business needs.