The carbon footprint of egg, raw
Egg, raw emits about 0.293 kg CO₂e per 1 kg of prepared product. Below is where that figure actually comes from — every stage of the chain, not a single headline number.
- Transport
- 0.17 kg
- 58%
- Moving it from farm to processor to shop.
- Packaging
- 0.123 kg
- 42%
- Producing the packaging it reaches you in.
How it is grown changes the number by 36%
These are 8 separately assessed production systems for the same product. Emissions are farm-gate — the part the grower controls — and range from 1.492 to 2.333 kg CO₂e. A label on a shelf almost never tells you which one you are holding.
- Eggs, conventional, indoor system, cage, at farm gatelowest1.492
- Eggs, conventional, indoor production, cage 2012 rules, at farm gate1.546
- Eggs, national average, at farm gate1.576
- Eggs, Bleu Blanc Coeur, outdoor system, at farm gate1.679
- Eggs, conventional, outdoor system, at farm gate2.045
- Eggs, conventional, indoor system, non-cage, at farm gate2.116
- Egg, organic, system n°2, at farm gate2.186
- Egg, organic, system n°1, at farm gate2.333
kg CO₂e per 1 kg of prepared product, cradle to farm gate. Farm-gate figures exclude processing, packaging and transport, so they sit below the full total above.
Lower-carbon alternatives
Each emits less than half as much as egg, raw.
Similar products
Common questions
- How much CO2 does egg, raw produce?
- About 0.293 kg CO₂e per 1 kg of prepared product, measured across the supply chain. That is roughly the same as driving 2 km in an average petrol car.
- What drives the footprint of egg, raw?
- Transport is the largest contributor at 0.17 kg CO₂e, about 58% of the total. Transport is only 0.17 kg — which is why what you eat matters far more than how far it travelled.
- Does how egg, raw is produced change its footprint?
- Yes, substantially. Across 8 production methods in this dataset the farm-gate emissions range from 1.492 to 2.333 kg CO₂e — a difference of 36%.
- 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 Agribalyse (ADEME).
Figures from the WRAP UK Food & Drink Emission Factor Database v2.0, which aggregates published life-cycle assessments; this product's data originates from Agribalyse (ADEME), for France. 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.
Shred what you can't cut
Diet is one of the biggest levers you control. For the rest, retire verified carbon credits — with the serial number to prove it.