Carbon awareness · Measurability

The carbon cost of vanilla, measured stage by stage.

Vanilla travels a long way from vine to bottle, and every stage carries a different carbon cost. We estimate emissions for each stage using published factors, score them, and combine them into one cradle-to-gate footprint — transparently, before we make a single claim.

Try the calculators How we measure

4 stagesscored independently

GLEC v3.1freight emission factors

Cradle → gatecombined footprint score

01AWARENESS

Where carbon enters the vanilla chain

Four stages, four different cost profiles. Understanding which stage dominates is the first step before making any reduction claim.

Production

Cultivation, hand-pollination, and the long curing and drying cycle.

Distribution

Moving beans from origin to market — the single largest variable.

Extraction

Ethanol-based extraction, facility energy, and solvent recovery.

Market

Channel, packaging, and last-mile delivery to the customer.

02CALCULATORS

Estimate the footprint of each stage

Adjust any parameter and the emissions, per-unit intensity, and score update immediately.

Stage calculator

01 · Production footprint

Estimate emissions from growing and curing vanilla beans based on origin, land use, fertilizer, drying method, and inland transport.

Green beans produced (kg) Origin Cultivation system Land-use change Synthetic N fertilizer Curing & drying method Curing duration Irrigation Farm-to-collection transport

Estimated emissions —kg CO₂e

— kg CO₂e / kg bean

—/ 100 stage score

—

Stage calculator

02 · Distribution footprint

Estimate freight emissions across two legs by mode, distance, temperature control, and load efficiency on a tonne-kilometer basis.

Shipment weight (kg)

Leg 1 — main international freight

Mode Distance (km)

Leg 2 — inland / domestic

Mode Distance (km) Temperature control Load efficiency Packaging weight Warehousing & handling

Estimated emissions —kg CO₂e

— kg CO₂e / kg shipped

—/ 100 stage score

—

Stage calculator

03 · Extraction footprint

Estimate extraction emissions from ethanol feedstock, solvent recovery, facility energy, heat source, waste, and packaging.

Finished extract (L) Ethanol per L extract (L) Ethanol feedstock Solvent recovery & reuse Process energy per L (kWh) Facility electricity source Process heat source Extraction method Spent bean disposal Bottle & packaging

Estimated emissions —kg CO₂e

— kg CO₂e / L extract

—/ 100 stage score

—

Stage calculator

04 · Market footprint

Estimate downstream emissions from channel, parcel weight, distance, delivery speed, packaging, returns, and offsets.

Orders fulfilled Avg parcel weight (kg) Sales channel Avg shipping distance (km) Last-mile delivery speed Retail / outer packaging Estimated return rate Carbon offset program

Estimated emissions —kg CO₂e

— kg CO₂e / order

—/ 100 stage score

—

Combined result · cradle to gate

Cradle-to-gate carbon footprint

—kg CO₂e — cradle to gate

—/ 100 combined score

—

Production—

Distribution—

Extraction—

Market—

These calculators are educational screening tools using representative published emission factors (GLEC Framework v3.1 / ISO 14083 for freight, US EPA eGRID for electricity, peer-reviewed LCA ranges for agriculture and ethanol). Results are indicative, not certified figures. Lot-specific data is available on request.

03METHODOLOGY

How these numbers are calculated

Every figure is built from published emission factors and a transparent formula. We show our working so buyers can check it.

Activity data × emission factor

Each stage multiplies a quantity by a published per-unit emission factor, then layers selected choices as adjustment multipliers.

emissions = activity × base × Σ(multipliers)

GHG Protocol · activity-based method

Freight on a tonne-kilometer basis

Each leg's distance and mode become grams of CO2e per tonne-kilometer, adjusted for temperature, load, and packaging. Ocean ~8 g; air over 600 g.

freight = Σ(g/t-km × km) × tonnes × modifiers

GLEC Framework v3.1 · ISO 14083

Electricity and ethanol factors

Extraction uses US grid intensity for energy and feedstock-specific carbon intensity for ethanol, adjusted for solvent recovery.

extract = (base + eth + energy×heat) × waste × pkg

US EPA eGRID · peer-reviewed ethanol LCA

Scoring against reference bands

Each stage's intensity scores 0–100 against a 'good' and 'poor' band. The combined score averages all four stages.

score = 100 × (poor − actual) / (poor − good)

VanillaGoods internal calibration

These calculations are educational screening representations of VanillaGoods carbon logic, not a substitute for a formal life-cycle assessment or third-party-audited reporting. Verified lot-specific data is available on request.

04SHARE

A footprint score you can share with buyers

The badge reflects the combined cradle-to-gate score from the calculators above — it updates live as you adjust inputs.

VanillaGoods carbon footprint score —/ 100 —

— kg CO₂e cradle to gate · screening estimate

Updates live as you adjust the calculators above.

The shareable score is a screening estimate, not a certified result. Present it as an internal indicative figure, clearly labeled as such, in buyer-facing materials.

05PLAIN LANGUAGE

Carbon terms, explained

Carbon reporting comes with a lot of jargon. Here is what the terms on this page mean — no background required.

What is a carbon footprint?

The total greenhouse gases released to make, move, and deliver a product — measured as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e). For vanilla, that covers everything from growing the beans to shipping the finished extract.

What does CO₂e mean?

Carbon dioxide equivalent. Several gases contribute to warming, so they are converted into a single comparable unit — the equivalent amount of CO₂ — making it easy to add up and compare across stages.

What are Scope 1, 2, and 3?

Scope 1 is what we burn directly, like facility fuel. Scope 2 is the electricity we buy. Scope 3 is everything else — farming, freight, packaging — and for vanilla it is usually the largest share.

What is a tonne-kilometer?

The unit behind freight emissions: moving one tonne of goods one kilometer. Multiply it by an emission factor for the mode and you get the carbon cost of a shipment — which is why ocean (~8 g/t-km) beats air (over 600 g/t-km) so dramatically.

What is an emission factor?

A standard figure for how much CO₂e an activity produces. We use published factors (GLEC Framework, EPA eGRID, peer-reviewed LCAs) so our estimates can be checked against the same references everyone else uses.

What is a screening estimate?

An early, indicative figure built from standard reference data rather than a fully audited measurement — useful for planning while we build a verified baseline, but not presented as a certified result.

Why measure before making claims?

Because a sustainability claim is only worth as much as the data behind it. We would rather show where our numbers come from — and where they are still estimates — than make a green promise we cannot trace.