Once a year, we publish the lifecycle analysis results for every product in the BBMF portfolio with the full breakdown, by product, by ingredient, by lifecycle stage, with methodology notes. This is the 2026 edition, validated by Eaternity, Zurich..
What Is a pastry Fat Lifecycle Analysis and why does It matter?
A lifecycle analysis, or LCA, measures the total environmental footprint of a product from raw ingredient sourcing through to distribution. For a pastry fat, that means tracking carbon emissions and scarce water consumption across agriculture, processing, packaging, storage and final delivery.
For bakeries and food manufacturers facing Scope 3 reporting obligations, retail supply chain audits, or EUDR compliance requirements, the LCA is not just an environmental exercise. It is a procurement document that produces numbers with a methodology you can show to an auditor, a retailer, or a board. And defend.
The BBMF portfolio LCA is conducted annually by Eaternity, one of Europe’s leading certified LCA specialists in food systems, based in Zurich. Every figure published here is third-party validated. System boundaries cover agriculture, processing, packaging, storage, and distribution.
What Changed in 2026 vs 2025
The carbon footprint for the Be Better 80% block previously carried a headline of 81% less carbon versus dairy butter. The 2026 figure is 78%. The Eaternity 3-star climate rating is unchanged.
The reason is distribution geography. BBMF now reaches Canada, Japan and Taiwan. Eaternity’s methodology includes storage and distribution within the system boundary, weighted by actual transport route. When you add reefer container freight across the Pacific, the transport share in the lifecycle increases. Agriculture and processing numbers are unchanged. Also the data is continously updated. More data on coconut means that water required has proven to be more as previously reported.
The Full 2026 Results: BBMF Portfolio Carbon Footprint by Product
Be Better 80% block: Cakes, cookies, tarts, enriched doughs, buttercreams
78% less carbon. 55% less scarce water. Compared to conventional dairy butter.
In absolute terms per 10kg block: approximately 27,052g of CO₂ and 1,215 litres of scarce water. The 80% block is the universal fat for artisan and semi-industrial production lines validated across all general pastry applications, IFS certified, EUDR compliant, zero allergens.
Carbon breakdown at agriculture stage: shea oil 61%, coconut fat 24%, sunflower oil 7%. Water footprint driven predominantly by coconut fat at 88%, a formulation variable with a clear improvement pathway (see Section 3).
Be Better 80% plate: Croissant, danish, laminated doughs
75% less carbon. 86% less scarce water. Compared to dairy butter 80%.
The 86% scarce water reduction is the strongest water figure in the portfolio and one of the most commercially significant numbers in this dataset for any procurement team tracking water-intensity in their supply chain. The reason is formulation: the 80% lamination plate contains little coconut fat which carries a high water-scarcity index in the Eaternity database.
For operations running croissant or laminated dough production at volume, this is a palm-free fat for croissant production that is third-party validated for high-volume lamination applications, lift, colour, and shelf life benchmarked against dairy equivalents.
Be Better 80% puff pastry block: Industrial lamination, fermented doughs, puff pastry, panettone
77% less carbon. 84% less scarce water. Compared to dairy butter 80%.
The puff pastry block is our latest addition. It is aindustrial-format product in the BBMF range, 10kg, designed for high-output lamination lines. It contains no coconut fat. The result is a water footprint of 3.48 litres per 100g, compared to 12.2 litres for the 80% block. Sunflower oil accounts for 99% of the scarce water figure, a significantly lower-risk ingredient origin than coconut.
For industrial procurement teams with water reporting requirements or supply chain water-risk assessments, the puff block’s water credentials are the most defensible in the portfolio.
Be Better 100% block: Cakes, cookies, tarts, enriched doughs, buttercreams, ganaches, fillings, spreads. Clean label,
78% less carbon. 51% less scarce water. Compared to dairy butter 100%.
The 100% fat block for chocolatiers, pastry chefs and filling applications. The 51% water reduction is the lowest in the range, The absolute numbers remain substantial: 307g carbon per 100g versus 1,415g for dairy butter 100%.
Extra benefits for your pastry: As it contains no water it can extend your pastry shelf life and it has a clean label. Validated by top chocolatiers for ganache, filling, spread and a cocoa butter replacement for velvet spray and dipping.
The ingredient doing the most work: wild-harvested shea
Shea nut is the primary ingredient across every BBMF product representing 59 to 82% of the agriculture-stage carbon contribution depending on the formula. It also carries zero scarce water footprint at farm stage.
Shea nut is wild-harvested. Not farmed, not irrigated, not subject to the water-scarcity index weighting that drives the water numbers for coconut, rapeseed and sunflower. The Eaternity methodology assigns a local water-scarcity weight to every ingredient at origin. Wild-harvested shea scores zero, because it draws on no irrigation system and occupies no dedicated agricultural land.
This is not a claim BBMF makes. It is what the methodology produces when the ingredient and its sourcing are entered accurately into the model.
The dominant water driver across the portfolio is coconut oil, specifically from Sri Lanka origins. Switching to Indonesia-only coconut sourcing would reduce the water footprint across all affected products. This is part of our sourcing roadmap.
What the LCA means for your bakery operation
The reason to run a certified LCA is not the headline number. It is the documentation behind it.
For Scope 3 reporting: If your business is building a sustainability disclosure, responding to a retailer questionnaire, or meeting an ESG reporting requirement, you need ingredient-level footprint data with a verified methodology. The BBMF LCA provides exactly that agriculture through distribution, third-party certified, annually updated.
For EUDR compliance: Every BBMF product is EUDR compliant and palm-free. The Eaternity Rainforest protection score is at maximum across the full portfolio.
For allergen management: Zero allergens across the full portfolio. For QA teams managing allergen documentation and cross-contamination risk, a single fat decision eliminates the category entirely from the ingredient risk register.
For procurement: Dairy butter has had major volatility the past 24 months and will continue to do so. BBMF operates on fixed-price contracts. The LCA documents the footprint. The contract structure removes the price volatility. One fat decision addresses both.
EUDR compliance, allergen elimination and palm-free sourcing are not features added to a product. They are structural properties of the BBMF fat strategy system, the Eaternity data now puts verified numbers on what was already built in.
The 2026 BBMF Eaternity Scores at a Glance
| Product | Carbon vs Dairy | Scarce Water vs Dairy | Climate Rating | Water Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80% Block | −78% | −55% | ★★★ | ★★★ |
| 80% Lamination Plate | −75% | −86% | ★★★ | ★★★ |
| Puff Pastry Block | −77% | −84% | ★★★ | ★★★ |
| 100% Block | −78% | −51% | ★★★ | ★★★ |
All products: IFS Certified · EUDR Compliant · Palm-Free · Zero Allergens · Animal Welfare Maximum · Rainforest Protected
Get the full LCA documentation
The complete 2026 Eaternity data sheets, by product, by ingredient, by lifecycle stage, with full methodology notes, are available and can be requested by contacting us directly at joost@bebettermyfriend.com.
