# Cashew nuts: Emissions

Why estimates of cashew's footprint vary twenty-fold

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cashew/emissions/

Why estimates of cashew's footprint vary twenty-fold What this tab covers The greenhouse-gas footprint of the commodity at a global level, split by lifecycle phase: extraction (or farming), refining and processing, movement, usage, and recycling or end of life. Intensities are per unit of product; the global total combines intensity with world output. Also covers other environmental impacts and the main levers to cut emissions. Emission intensity 2.10 t CO2e per t range about 0.4 (nuts, P&N mean with land-use credit) to 10.9 (Brazilian kernel LCA) · cradle-to-retail, GWP100; no published phase split for cashew, so phase shares are not given Global emissions per year 2.40 Mt CO2e per year 2024 · 2.1 t CO2e/t x about 1.15 Mt of kernels (27% of 4.24 Mt RCN) (indicative)

Per t of cashew kernels at retail; cradle-to-retail. Intensity: Clark et al. 2022 (PNAS), via Our World in Data; Poore & Nemecek 2018 via OWID; Gaia Scientia 2021 (Brazil). Global total: derived from FAOSTAT 2024 and Clark et al. 2022.

#### Footprint by lifecycle phase

| Phase | Intensity | Share | Main sources of emissions | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Extraction** | about 0.10-0.13 t CO2e per t of nuts on a Brazilian orchard, about 0.4-0.5 per t of kernel | – | field N2O from fertiliser (up to 76% of farm emissions), orchard operations | Most African orchards use little fertiliser. Poore & Nemecek credit tree nuts with carbon uptake when planted on former cropland, which is why their average is low. | Sales et al. 2025 (Sustainability); kernel conversion derived at 27% outturn |
| **Refining / processing** | not separately published; the largest gap in the data | – | steam boilers or roasting drums, often fired with cashew shells; drying; packaging | Shell-fired boilers use biomass but release CNSL smoke. A Brazilian LCA found polyethylene packaging was a key hotspot; glass cut the footprint about 12%. | Gaia Scientia 2021 (Brazil) |
| **Movement** | not separately published | – | two ocean legs: RCN Africa to India or Vietnam, then kernels to the US, EU and China | Shipping whole nuts moves about 3.7 t of shell and kernel for each t of kernel. | derived from APEDA trade flows (indicative) |
| **Usage** | none directly | – | roasting and frying for snacks | Snack roasting adds energy but is not measured in global studies. | indicative |
| **Recycling / end of life** | shells reused as fuel and CNSL | – | shell burning, de-oiled cake | Using shells and cashew apples avoids waste; most cashew apples outside Brazil rot in the field. | FAOSTAT 2024; indicative |

#### Other environmental impacts

Cashew is water-hungry by some measures (about 3,500 litres per kg, Clark et al. 2022), and manual shelling exposes workers, mostly women, to caustic CNSL burns. Shell burning causes local air pollution.

#### Levers to cut emissions

- Process near farms in Africa to avoid shipping shells across oceans
- Use shells in efficient boilers with smoke control, and extract CNSL before burning
- Replant old orchards: India's yield is 663 kg/ha against 1,079 kg/ha in Vietnam (FAOSTAT 2024)
- Lighter or recyclable kernel packaging

#### India

India imports 12.47 lakh t of RCN a year (CY2024, APEDA), so much of its kernel footprint is ocean freight of whole nuts from West and East Africa. Indian factories largely fire boilers with cashew shells rather than coal.
 Emission figures are indicative global averages from the life-cycle studies named; actual footprints vary widely by site, energy mix and method.

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cashew/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cashew/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cashew/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cashew/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cashew/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cashew/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cashew/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cashew/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cashew/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cashew/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cashew/characteristics/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cashew/links/index.md)