The carbon footprint of cocoa (chocolate)
Cocoa (Chocolate) emits about 33.669 kg CO₂e per 1 kg of dark chocolate. Below is where that figure actually comes from — every stage of the chain, not a single headline number.
Where the carbon comes from
- Land Use Change
- 25.815 kg
- 77%
- Carbon released when forest or grassland is cleared to produce it.
- Farm
- 6.687 kg
- 20%
- Emissions on the farm itself — livestock methane, fertiliser, fuel, manure.
- Packaging
- 0.722 kg
- 2%
- Producing the packaging it reaches you in.
- Processing
- 0.334 kg
- 1%
- Turning the raw product into food: milling, refining, slaughter, curing.
- Transport
- 0.111 kg
- 0%
- Moving it from farm to processor to shop.
Lower-carbon alternatives
Each emits less than half as much as cocoa (chocolate).
Similar products
White chocolate bar, with dried fruits (nuts, almonds, raisins, praline) · 2.195Milk chocolate bar · 2.056Milk chocolate bar, filled with praline · 2.056Milk chocolate bar, with dried fruits (nuts, almonds, raisins, praline) · 2.056Milk chocolate bar, with puffed/popped cereals · 2.056Milk chocolate bar, without sugar, with sweeteners · 2.056
Common questions
- How much CO2 does cocoa (chocolate) produce?
- About 33.669 kg CO₂e per 1 kg of dark chocolate, measured across the supply chain. That is roughly the same as driving 198 km in an average petrol car.
- What drives the footprint of cocoa (chocolate)?
- Land Use Change is the largest contributor at 25.815 kg CO₂e, about 77% of the total. Transport is only 0.111 kg — which is why what you eat matters far more than how far it travelled.
- Where does this data come from?
- The WRAP UK Food & Drink Emission Factor Database v2.0, which aggregates peer-reviewed life-cycle assessments. This product's figures come from Poore & Nemecek (2018).
Figures from the WRAP UK Food & Drink Emission Factor Database v2.0, which aggregates published life-cycle assessments; this product's data originates from Poore & Nemecek (2018), for global. Real values vary by farm, region and method — treat these as the shape of the problem, not a measurement of any one item on your shelf.
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