Benchmarks answer the question that crosses the mind of many leaders, from business owners, to sustainability officers: ‘Are we where we should be?’ Not if you’re judging in a vacuum. What counts is how your numbers stack up against the average carbon footprint by industry—because steel isn’t the same as baking bread, and a data centre isn’t a dairy farm. Carbon emissions by industry shift with products, processes, and the energy you buy, which is why industry carbon footprint benchmarks matter: They turn raw tonnes into context and help leaders see whether they’re leading or lagging.