Pick one ingredient and two options, and give the pair an identifier so the rows stay together. Write the place, the production setting, any separate storage note, the production period, the transport mode, the stages, the unit and the evidence reference. Functional unit, included stages and comparison period must match. Place, production method and transport may differ because those are the options being compared. If the matching inputs are unknown or do not match, the comparison stays open. A complete boundary still has no winner. This sheet does not supply impact data.

This is a support sheet. File a local or seasonal sentence on the supplier questionnaire. The sourcing guide is the buying overview. Return to the hospitality overview for the kitchen list.

What a comparison needs before it says anything

Local is a place. Seasonal is a growing period. Neither word is a result.

Production setting is field_in_season, heated or unknown. Storage is not a fourth rival setting. Record storage separately, or in a documented production note, so a heated then stored option can keep the heating.

Forbes, Peacock, Ita, Reynolds, Jones and Chalmers, May 2024, say food miles are not a suitable sustainability metric and that geographical local origin does not guarantee lower environmental impact. They also say producing food out of season can substantially increase the greenhouse-gas footprint, and that these are general trends which may not apply to all products. Air freight is identified as adding considerably to the carbon footprint. Those conclusions are trends, not a ranking of every menu.

Unknown or mismatched stages, unit or period keep the comparison open. Place, production method and transport do not have to be the same. An evidence-backed future comparison is possible. This simple sheet does not supply the impact data for it.

Fill in two identifiable options on one pair

Download both files. Save a copy of the blank file and type into that copy.

The files are plain CSV. There is no winner column and no emission factor. Air stays the word air.

comparable_no_winner needs an identifiable pair, matching boundary, a named unit, named stages, a production period, evidence references on both options, and no unknown production or transport field.

Worked example: an unfinished tomato pair and a complete hypothetical pair

The pairs are fictional comparisons for Northgate Kitchen. The kitchen, the options and the evidence references are invented.

Pair What was written Status
T1 tomatoes UK heated in January, road. Spain field in season in January, road. Stages and evidence blank. Not comparable. The comparison stays open.
T2 tomatoes Both options use 1 kg tomatoes at the kitchen door and stages production, storage and transport. UK heated in January, then stored, evidence E-UK-heat. Spain field in season in January, not stored after harvest in this boundary, evidence E-ES-field. Both road. Comparable, no winner. Storage sits inside the common stages. It is a note on each option, not a rival setting. No kilogram CO2e is written. Seek a life-cycle source that uses this unit, these stages and these production conditions.
B1 berries Option A transport is air. Option B is not stated. Not comparable. Air is not converted to a factor.

The sheet does not say the Spanish tomatoes are lower impact. Nutrition, price and security are not scored.

Limits

Even a complete boundary is not a universal result. A public menu line still goes through the green-claims guide. The supplier questionnaire files the document. This sheet does not.

Sources