Chocolate Bar
Food & Beverage Medium Confidence
Carbon Cost Index Score
3 kgCO₂e / per unit (100 g bar)
Per kg
30 kgCO₂e / kg
Methodology v1.0 · Last reviewed 2026-04-08
Scope Breakdown
| Scope | kgCO₂e | % of Total | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope 1 | 0.1 | 3% | |
| Scope 2 | 0.3 | 10% | |
| Scope 3 | 2.6 | 87% | |
| Total | 3 | 100% |
Emission Hotspots
| Emission Hotspot | Scope | Est. % of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Cocoa farming (land-use change, deforestation, fertilizer) | S3 | 45% |
| Dairy milk powder production (enteric methane, feed) | S3 | 20% |
| Cocoa processing (roasting, conching, tempering) | S2 | 15% |
| Sugar cultivation and refining | S3 | 10% |
| Packaging (aluminum foil, paper wrapper, carton) and transport | S3 | 10% |
Manufacturing Geography
- Region
- Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana (cocoa); EU (processing)
- Grid Intensity
- 300 gCO2e/kWh (IEA 2024, EU average)
Material Composition Assumptions
The default reference product is a 100 g milk chocolate bar, composed of:
- Cocoa mass and cocoa butter: ~35-40 g. Derived from fermented, dried, and roasted cocoa beans. Global cocoa supply is dominated by West Africa (Côte d’Ivoire ~40%, Ghana ~15%), where land-use change from tropical forest to cocoa plantation is a major emission driver.
- Sugar: ~40-50 g. Cane sugar (tropical) or beet sugar (temperate). Cane sugar production involves field burning in some regions.
- Milk powder: ~15-20 g for milk chocolate. Dairy milk production carries enteric methane emissions from cattle. Dark chocolate eliminates this component.
- Cocoa butter: Additional cocoa butter for smoothness, ~5-10 g.
- Emulsifiers and vanilla: Soy lecithin, vanillin, <1 g.
- Packaging: Aluminum foil inner wrap, paper or cardboard outer wrapper, approximately 10-15 g.
Cocoa farming is the dominant emission driver due to deforestation risk. Approximately 70% of global cocoa comes from West Africa, where expansion into tropical forest has been documented as a significant source of land-use-change CO2 emissions.
Manufacturing Geography
Chocolate has a split supply chain:
- Cocoa farming: Côte d’Ivoire (~40%), Ghana (~15%), Indonesia (~10%), Ecuador, Cameroon.
- Cocoa processing (grinding): Netherlands, Côte d’Ivoire, Germany, USA. Major grinders include Barry Callebaut, Cargill, and Olam.
- Chocolate manufacturing: Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, UK, USA. Confectioners include Mars, Mondelez, Nestlé, Ferrero.
- Grid intensity (EU): ~300 gCO2e/kWh (IEA 2024). Most premium chocolate is processed in Europe.
- Rationale: Cocoa roasting, conching, and tempering are moderately energy-intensive steps requiring controlled temperatures. However, upstream cocoa farming (Scope 3) dominates the footprint by a wide margin.
Regional Variation
| Cocoa Origin | Deforestation Risk | Estimated CCI Score | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Africa (default) | High | 3.0 kgCO2e | Baseline |
| Latin America (Ecuador, Peru) | Medium | 2.5 kgCO2e | -17% |
| Indonesia | High | 3.0 kgCO2e | 0% |
| Agroforestry / shade-grown | Low | 1.5-2.0 kgCO2e | -40% |
Note: Dark chocolate (no dairy) scores approximately 20-30% lower than milk chocolate due to eliminating the milk powder component.
Provenance Override Guidance
- Product-level PCF per ISO 14067.
- Cocoa sourcing: Rainforest Alliance, UTZ, or Fairtrade certified cocoa with verified deforestation-free supply chain.
- Dairy sourcing: Origin and farming system for milk powder.
- Manufacturer data: Barry Callebaut, Mars, and Mondelez publish sustainability data.
Methodology Notes
- CCI score of 3 kgCO2e per 100 g bar represents a conservative estimate for milk chocolate with West African cocoa. Poore & Nemecek (2018) report ~10-15 kgCO2e/kg for milk chocolate. At 100 g, this translates to 1.0-1.5 kgCO2e per bar without deforestation; adding land-use change pushes the estimate to 2-4 kgCO2e per bar.
- Scope breakdown: Scope 3 dominates at 87% (2.6 kgCO2e) from cocoa farming, dairy production, sugar, and packaging. Scope 2 is 10% (0.3 kgCO2e) from processing electricity. Scope 1 is 3% (0.1 kgCO2e).
- Functional unit: One 100 g milk chocolate bar, cradle to gate.
- Included: Cocoa farming (with land-use change), dairy production, sugar cultivation, processing, packaging.
- Excluded: Retail refrigeration (ambient product), consumer transport, end-of-life.
Related Concepts
Related Categories
Sources
- Ntiamoah & Afrane (2008) — Environmental impacts of cocoa production and processing in Ghana: Life cycle assessment approach. Journal of Cleaner Production, 16(16), 1735-1740. Reports cocoa bean production at approximately 1.5-3.0 kgCO2e/kg depending on land-use change inclusion.
- Recanati et al. (2018) — Assessing the role of CAR (Carbon Accounting for Restaurants) in evaluating the carbon footprint of the food supply chain. Journal of Cleaner Production, 191, 147-159. Provides chocolate supply chain emissions data.
- Poore & Nemecek (2018) — Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science, 360(6392), 987-992. Reports dark chocolate at approximately 19 kgCO2e/kg and milk chocolate at approximately 10-15 kgCO2e/kg depending on dairy and cocoa sourcing.
- IEA (2024) — Emissions Factors 2024. Grid intensities for major chocolate processing countries.
- Rainforest Alliance / UTZ (2020) — Cocoa sustainability benchmarking data. Documents cocoa farming emissions including deforestation risk in West Africa.