Annie’s Inc.: LCA reveals carbon impacts of representative products

Annie’s, Inc. was founded in 1989 with a mission to provide families with healthy macaroni and cheese. Over the years, the company has built a loyal and growing following among consumers who also value its committment to socially responsible practices.

In order to address the climate impacts of its 125-plus products, the company first needed to understand where the hot-spots are in its supply chain. As a leader in the organic food industry, Annie’s also wanted to know for certain whether or not its organic ingredients resulted in fewer greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) than conventionally farmed crops.

Analyzing the Product Portfolio

Pure Strategies conducted a category-level life cycle assessment (LCA) for Annie’s, evaluating the carbon impacts of a representative sampling of the company’s products from “cradle-to-grave.” The LCA showed the biggest GHG impact (41%) results from material production—on the farms where ingredients are grown. This is followed by product use (19%), due to the energy needed to cook macaroni. Next comes distribution (16%), processing (11%), packaging (11%), and end-of-life disposal (2%).

The LCA also revealed that organic wheat accounts for more than 50% of Annie’s product portfolio weight. Pure Strategies’ research determined that organic wheat crops consistently demonstrate lower global warming. In fact, on average, organic wheat production has a 40% lower global warming potential than conventional production, due primarily to the lack of synthetic fertilizers.

Through these efforts, Annie’s has strengthened its reputation among consumers and its position as an advocate for climate policy. In 2012, Climate Counts recognized Annie’s as a Striding Climate Leader for this supply chain work.