Raw Material Production
Raw material production is where it all begins—the agricultural production of every ingredient that will eventually become a standard chocolate bar. This process includes growing cocoa trees, cultivating sugar beets, and raising dairy cows for milk production.
Raw material production accounts for
kg CO₂eq per chocolate bar
This step typically dominates the environmental footprint of food products because agriculture requires land, water, fertilizers, and energy, while also affecting soil and biodiversity. Understanding where the biggest impacts originate helps companies and consumers to focus their sustainability efforts where they'll make the biggest difference—supporting regenerative cocoa farming and sustainable agriculture practices.
Our chocolate journey begins in tropical cocoa farms around the world. Here are the base ingredients and what is needed to produce them:
Cocoa Bean
Cocoa beans are the main ingredient of chocolate. Growing them includes: land use, establishment and dismantling of the plantation, orchard maintenance, fertilizer and pesticide use, harvesting, and farm transportation.
Cocoa beans global warming potential:
kg CO₂eq for 61,4 g of cocoa beans
Sugar Beets
In Europe, sugar from sugar beet is often used to sweeten chocolate. Sugar production includes cultivation of sugar beet (land use, tillage, seeding, fertilizer and pesticide use, harvesting, and farm transportation. Industrial extraction to sugar from sugar beet.
Sugar beets global warming potential:
kg CO₂eq for 33,1 g of sugar
Cow's milk
Milk powder is produced from cow’s milk. This requires land use, feed production, milk collection, and on-site transportation. After collection, the milk is concentrated into evaporated milk, then further processed via spray drying to obtain milk powder.
Cow milk global warming potential:
kg CO₂eq 14,2 g of milk powder
Ingredient Transportation
This phase covers the global logistics network that moves raw materials from farms and processing facilities to the chocolate manufacturing location. It includes international shipping, regional trucking, and local delivery.
Ingredient transportation accounts for
kg CO₂eq per chocolate bar
Transport distance is commonly considered when evaluating the environmental impact of food products. An LCA quantifies the actual contribution of transport to total environmental impact. This chocolate LCA shows that transport accounts for 0.7% of the product's carbon footprint. Local farming transportation is included in the farming activities.
These raw ingredients embark on a global journey to reach the chocolate factory:
- Cocoa beans travel in jute bags from tropical farms to processing facilities worldwide. An average global transport from the ecoinvent datasets was applied.
- Sugar and milk powder.
Swiss Manufacturing
Manufacturing transforms raw ingredients into finished chocolate through industrial processes: roasting cocoa beans, mixing ingredients, molding bars, and cooling. This step also includes all the energy, water, and materials needed to run the factory.
Swiss manufacturing accounts for
kg CO₂eq per chocolate bar
Industrial processing requires significant energy inputs for heating, cooling, and running machinery. Given the high energy demand, the use of renewable energy may significantly reduce the environmental impacts.
An LCA can help manufacturers identify where to invest in improvements. For example, in our interview with coffee machine manufacturer, Thermoplan, their Head of Sustainability confirmed that ecoinvent data enabled their organization to prioritize their impact projects, including new software features in Thermoplan machines that allow them to save up to 20% of the energy consumption.
Manufacturing transforms raw ingredients into chocolate:
- The cocoa beans are roasted with heat from natural gas.
- Electricity powers machinery for grinding, mixing, and cooling the chocolate.
- Water, cleaning solvents, and lubricating oils are used to keep everything hygienic, in working order, and food-safe.
- Manufacturing produces waste. The cocoa bean shells are treated as biowaste. Jute bags are discarded. Wastewater from cleaning goes down the drain.
Packaging
Packaging involves creating and applying all materials that protect, preserve, and present the chocolate bar to consumers. This includes primary packaging (aluminum foil wrapper) and secondary packaging (paper wrapper), plus any labels or inks used.
Packaging accounts for
kg CO₂eq per chocolate bar
Packaging serves crucial functions: protecting food quality, extending shelf life, and reducing food waste. It is key to find the right balance between protection and environmental impact, and designing for end-of-life recovery.
Chocolate bar packaging processes:
- Aluminum foil provides a barrier to keep chocolate fresh and protected. This requires aluminum mining.
- The paper wrapper offers structural protection, space for branding, and product information. Forestry resources are needed.
Distribution
Distribution encompasses all transport and logistics from the manufacturing facility to the final consumer. This includes wholesale delivery to retailers, retail operations, and even a small share of the consumer's trip to the store to purchase the chocolate.
Distribution accounts for
kg CO₂eq per chocolate bar
Distribution systems determine how efficiently products reach consumers and how much additional transport is needed. This kind of systems thinking – seeing the whole picture rather than individual pieces – is what makes LCA invaluable for meaningful sustainability improvements.
Getting the chocolate from the factory to your shopping cart:
- Regional distribution networks and factory-to-retailer transport ensure chocolate reaches stores near you.
- The consumer travels to and from the grocery store.
End-of-Life Packaging Disposal
End-of-life covers what happens to packaging materials after the product is consumed. This includes collection, sorting, recycling, energy recovery, or disposal of packaging waste, depending on local waste management systems.
End-of-Life Packaging Disposal accounts for
kg CO₂eq per chocolate bar
Good waste management systems can recover materials and energy, while poor systems lead to more pollution and resource loss. Consumer behavior in sorting waste correctly plays a crucial role.
Waste disposal has climate impacts, but conscious waste treatment can help to minimize the environmental burden of packaging materials. Doing an LCA doesn't just highlight problems – it illuminates opportunities. By quantifying environmental benefits, LCAs can provide evidence needed to justify investments in more sustainable solutions.
After the consumer enjoys their Swiss milk chocolate bar, the packaging story continues.
For this LCA, it was assumed that all the waste treatment happens in Switzerland:
- The aluminum is discarded in household waste streams and treated as municipal solid waste.
- The paper wrapper is discarded in paper recycling and gets recycled into new paper products.
- Swiss waste management systems recover materials and energy where possible.
Finished Product: The Big Picture
The Power of an LCA:
From farm to disposal, life cycle assessments reveal the true impacts of agricultural products, while helping to identify effective solutions. Our LCA determined that that the total carbon impact of a standard 100g Swiss milk chocolate bar is:
What This Means for Real Impact
Environmental decision-making requires accurate data to move beyond assumptions and toward measurable outcomes. This chocolate LCA demonstrates how comprehensive environmental data enables informed decision-making across product life cycles.
Key Insights from this LCA:
- 95% of the impact of a sample chocolate bar comes from raw material production.
- Transport, manufacturing, packaging, and distribution together account for the remaining 5% of emissions.
- The farm, not the factory, is where chocolate's biggest environmental impact happens. This means that small changes in agriculture can create bigger impacts than major changes in manufacturing.
At ecoinvent, our mission is to promote and support the availability of high-quality environmental data worldwide to support informed sustainability decisions. When organizations have access to reliable environmental data, they can identify the most significant impact areas and allocate resources accordingly.
Our chocolate LCA study was made possible by the experts at PRé Sustainability, who used SimaPro Craft with the latest ecoinvent database, version 3.11. More is possible when we work together.