# How do I calculate the carbon footprint of Indian green coffee per kg for an export buyer?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/coffee-carbon-footprint-per-kg-green-coffee

Add four parts for a season and divide by kg of green coffee: nitrous oxide from fertiliser on the estate, methane from wet-processing wastewater, fuel and power for drying and curing, and freight. For washed coffee, fertiliser N2O and lagoon methane usually outweigh the curing works energy.

## Fertiliser nitrous oxide on the estate

Direct N2O = kg of nitrogen applied x 0.01 x 44/28, using the IPCC default emission factor of 0.01 kg N2O-N per kg N. The 2019 Refinement gives 0.016 for synthetic nitrogen in wet climates, which fits much of the Western Ghats; say which you used. Multiply kg N2O by 273 (IPCC AR6) for CO2e.

Count nitrogen from urea, complex fertilisers and compost. Indirect N2O from leaching and volatilisation is estimated separately, and urea also releases CO2 when applied. Making the fertiliser is a further input, taken from the supplier or a database.

## Wastewater methane from pulping and washing

Washed (parchment) coffee produces wastewater rich in organic matter. Methane = kg COD entering treatment x 0.25 x MCF, where 0.25 kg CH4 per kg COD is the IPCC default and MCF is 0.8 for a deep anaerobic lagoon (over 2 m), 0.2 for a shallow one, and 0 for well-run aerobic treatment. Use AR6 GWP 27 for this non-fossil methane.

Natural (cherry) and monsooned coffee use little water, so this term is small for them. Measure COD from your own lab or pollution control board returns.

## Drying, curing and transport

- Grid power for hulling, grading and colour sorting: kWh x 0.710 kg CO2.
- DG sets and vehicles on the estate: diesel litres x 2.68 kg CO2.
- Mechanical dryers: the fuel they burn. Wood or husk is biogenic CO2, reported separately.
- Freight from estate to curing works to port, by tonne-km.

## Shade trees: do not net them silently

Indian coffee grows under shade, and those trees store carbon. Counting that storage as a removal needs a land sector method, with monitoring and a permanence argument. Report any removals on a separate line under the GHG Protocol land sector guidance, never subtracted from the emissions total without saying so.

## Worked example: one season, 10,000 kg of washed green coffee

- Fertiliser: 1,400 kg N x 0.01 x 44/28 = 22.0 kg N2O; 22.0 x 273 = 6,006 kg CO2e
- Wastewater: 4,000 kg COD x 0.25 x 0.8 = 800 kg CH4; 800 x 27 = 21,600 kg CO2e
- Curing works power: 6,000 kWh x 0.710 = 4,260 kg CO2
- Diesel: 500 litres x 2.68 = 1,340 kg CO2
- Total: 6,006 + 21,600 + 4,260 + 1,340 = 33,206 kg CO2e
- Per kg green coffee: 33,206 / 10,000 = 3.3 kg CO2e

All inputs are illustrative. Fertiliser manufacture, indirect N2O and freight are left out here and belong in a full cradle to gate figure. The result includes methane and N2O, so it is in CO2e.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads the fuel, electricity and freight invoices behind the processing share (Scope 1 at IPCC 2006 defaults, Scope 2 at 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh) and keeps fertiliser and other supplier lines in a Scope 3 evidence trail. Product reports are self-declared drafts, not ISO 14067 certification.

- [EUDR data for coffee and rubber exporters](https://senseible.earth/answers/eudr-coffee-rubber-exporter-what-to-provide)
- [Wastewater methane from an ETP](https://senseible.earth/answers/etp-wastewater-methane-emissions)
- [Product carbon footprint calculator](https://senseible.earth/calculators/product-carbon-footprint)

Sources: [2006 IPCC Guidelines, Vol. 4 Ch. 11 (N2O from managed soils) and Vol. 5 Ch. 6 (wastewater)](https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/), [2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines, Vol. 4 Ch. 11 and Vol. 5 Ch. 6](https://www.ipcc.ch), [ISO 14067:2018, Carbon footprint of products](https://www.iso.org)

Last reviewed 2026-10-18. Shade tree removals fall under the GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals guidance; check its current status before reporting any removals.