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Acai is generally thought of as a tropical fruit that comes from far away. It is often considered environmentally harmful because it travels many miles from the Amazon. However, these assumptions are not based on concrete data.
To challenge common misconceptions, we decided to conduct a comprehensive and transparent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of our acai puree.
In this article, we are deliberately focusing on our Terraçaí by Nossa! organic and fair-trade acai puree, packaged in 4 × 100 g pouches and available in organic stores. It is this product, as it appears on store shelves, that is analyzed here.
Our approach also stems from a very concrete observation. In France, we regularly encounter strong arguments in favor of localism. It is an approach we fully support, as it is essential to the food transition.
In light of these statements, one question kept coming up: What is the actual impact of our acai puree? Especially when backed up by numbers. So, rather than relying on personal beliefs, we chose to respond with measurable data.
What is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)?
A Life Cycle Assessment is a standardized scientific method used to evaluate the environmental impacts of a product throughout its entire life cycle.
Unlike partial approaches that focus solely on the origin or transportation, LCA takes a comprehensive view of the product under consideration. Our LCA examines:
- The production of the raw material,
- The stages of processing,
- The successive trips,
- Storage,
- Packaging,
- End-of-life products.
The goal is clear: to enable reliable comparisons between products based on sound methodology.
In France, ADEME, the Agency for Ecological Transition, is the leading authority on LCA. It provides recognized databases, methodologies, and interpretive frameworks that are used by both public and private sector stakeholders. Our LCA was conducted with their support.
The LCA of acai puree
The LCA for Nossa! was conducted voluntarily, without any regulatory requirement. It was commissioned toODDS, an independent firm specializing in environmental analysis.
The results are considered valid for a period of two years, provided that production and logistics conditions remain stable.
Although the LCA covers several Nossa! products, here we explain the data specific to our Terraçaí by Nossa! organic and fair-trade acai puree.
The other benchmarks analyzed in our LCA are data points we use internally to improve the environmental impact of some of our products.
The scope of our study on acai puree
For our organic and fair-trade acai puree, the LCA covers all of the following stages:
- Harvesting açaí in agroforestry systems in Brazil,
- transport by river and road to the processing plant,
- processing into puree and freezing,
- packaged in bags of 4 × 100 g,
- refrigerated transport to the port,
- shipping to Le Havre,
- cold storage,
- distribution to organic logistics hubs,
- end-of-life of packaging.
Certain steps have been intentionally excluded—such as transportation between the store and the consumer’s home or preparation at the consumer’s home—to ensure consistency with the food sector’s LCA standards.
Harvesting in agroforestry is considered carbon-neutral. No fertilizers, no irrigation, no deforestation. The palm trees grow in natural ecosystems in the Amazon.
The carbon footprint of our acai puree
The carbon footprint of our acai puree is 0.76 kg of CO₂ per kilogram of acai puree.
This figure includes all stages covered by the LCA. It is a measured result based on actual data.
An LCA makes it possible to precisely identify sources of emissions:
- 0% agriculture: 0 kg CO₂e
Harvested in the forest, hand-picked, without machines or pesticides. - 30% processing: 0.22 kg CO₂e
: Pulping, pasteurization, flash freezing. - 55% transportation: 0.41 kg CO₂e
. Most maritime transport is via refrigerated containers. - 10% packaging + 5% end-of-life: 0.12 kg CO₂e
Plastic bags and cardboard boxes, taking into account the recycling streams.
To better interpret and understand this result, it is also essential to put it into perspective with other foods.
Acai vs. tropical fruits
When you compare acai to other tropical products commonly consumed in Europe, the contrast is striking.
This comparison also addresses a broader question: why have many so-called tropical products become so widely integrated into French dietary habits today, while acai continues to raise concerns solely because of its geographical origin?
Coffee, cocoa, bananas, and avocados are part of our daily lives, despite their sometimes very high carbon footprints. LCA allows us to situate Nossa! acai within this context, based on comparable data.
With 0.76 kg of CO₂e, acai ranks below bananas, imported kiwis, and avocados—and certainly below coffee and cocoa.
These differences can be attributed to several factors: the often intensive nature of agricultural production, the use of chemical inputs, crop yields, and, above all, the degree of processing of certain products.
Acai vs. Local Fruits
The "locally sourced" argument is often used as a convenient environmental shortcut. However, our life cycle assessment shows that some locally grown fruits can have a larger carbon footprint than acai.
These comparisons are not intended to pit one product against another. Their primary purpose is to provide a sense of scale, using fruits that are familiar to French consumers.
This is by no means meant to cast a negative light on local fruits: their carbon footprint remains low overall, and is much lower than that of many other ingredients in our diet.
Blueberries, raspberries, and apricots have a greater impact due to:
- low crop yields,
- input requirements,
- high perishability,
- complex cold chain.
Distance is just one factor among many. The method of production generally carries more weight than the number of kilometers traveled.
What the LCA of acai puree really reveals
Life Cycle Assessment is not limited to a final figure. It allows us to identify, understand, and interpret the actual mechanisms that shape a product’s environmental impact. In the case of our acai puree, several key insights emerge.
The production method is decisive
Key takeaway #1: The complete absence of intensive agriculture is a game-changer. The wild harvesting of açaí—without fertilizers, irrigation, pesticides, or deforestation—explains why the agricultural phase is considered carbon-neutral in the LCA.
By way of comparison, for many food products, agriculture accounts for the majority of the carbon footprint.
For example, for raw chicken, 81% of emissions come from the agricultural phase, resulting in a total carbon footprint of approximately 4.56 kg CO₂e per kilogram. This comparison helps put all fruits into perspective, as their overall impact remains relatively low within the food system.
Transportation is not always the main factor
The LCA also highlights a point that is often counterintuitive: long-distance transport does not automatically mean a high environmental impact. In the case of Nossa! acai, transport accounts for the largest share of emissions, but it remains under control thanks to:
- maritime transport, which accounts for the majority of shipments and is among the modes with the lowest emissions per kilogram transported,
- optimized cold chain logistics,
- the absence of back-and-forth processes or intermediate transformations.
This result goes beyond a simplistic interpretation based solely on the number of kilometers traveled.
Processing and packaging account for less than one might think
Another important lesson: processing and packaging, which are often perceived as having a significant environmental impact, actually account for only a small portion of the overall carbon footprint. In the case of our organic, fair-trade acai puree, these steps are kept to the bare essentials: de-pulp, flash-freezing, and simple packaging.
Fewer steps, fewer materials, fewer losses: this industrial efficiency is directly reflected in the LCA results.
An overview of our data
Finally, the LCA highlights an obvious yet often overlooked fact: no food product can be evaluated based on a single criterion. Pitting local products against imported ones without a comprehensive analysis leads to biased conclusions.
The value of this approach lies precisely in situating each product within the broader food system, taking into account all of its impacts rather than just a single visible factor.
This study confirmed our initial hypothesis that a sustainable agricultural model can offset carbon emissions from transportation.
This experience has also drawn our attention to certain aspects of our products that we need to improve. We are committed to transitioning to the most environmentally friendly product formats and are accelerating our efforts to reduce our environmental impact in the Amazon among the communities of foragers.
It is important to note that this LCA applies only to our product line and does not apply to other brands in the acai market under any circumstances.
For more information beyond what is covered in this article, you can access the life cycle assessment of acai puree upon request.
