1.7kgCO2e per 100g bar.
This is the average carbon footprint of a chocolate bar produced worldwide.
70% of this footprint comes from cocoa cultivation, 95% of which is due to deforestation. The remaining 30% is due to maritime transport and the transformation of cocoa into chocolate, particularly its water footprint (1600 liters of water per bar, from field to packaging).
(Graph: Carbon intensity of different chocolates depending on their recipe (in kgCO2e/kg))
The cocoa industry is the third largest cause of deforestation in the world, behind palm oil and soy. However, it is a tree that needs shade to be productive in the long term. But by over-irrigating it, its cultivation can do without the coolness of a canopy. Only, water consumption becomes exponential, and deforestation becomes mandatory. Ivory Coast has thus lost 80 to 90% of its forests in 60 years: a disaster.
All the socio-economic and environmental virtues of agroforestry are lost: carbon sinks, multiple crops - guaranteeing several income channels for producers - reduced water consumption, sustainable production, increased resistance to climatic phenomena and diseases, and many others.
So much for the facts. But all is not lost, far from it, and solutions exist in stores near you. Here they are:
👉 Favor specialty cocoa, which guarantees agroforestry farming, without inputs (pesticides, etc.), with fewer intermediaries and therefore higher remuneration for the producer. Almost all of the carbon footprint of cocoa is then avoided. You will enjoy a delicious chocolate with delicate organoleptic properties;
👉 Countries like Ghana in Africa, Ecuador, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia are ahead: the carbon footprint is around 0.2kg per 100g bar (10 times less than the world average). But the origin matters little when the above criterion is respected!
Finally, sailing transport is developing, thanks to current or future initiatives (Grail de Sail, TOWT and Belco). The ideal combination is then taking shape: cocoa grown in agroforestry, transported by sail and processed in France, close to you, using decarbonized energy.
With sailing and agroforestry, a part of the future is found in the past!
(Graph: Carbon intensity of three chocolate recipes according to the origin of the cocoa beans - in kgCO2e/kg)
Sources:
All4Trees
https://www.carbone4.com/analyse-breve-cacao
https://www.belco.fr/voile