Carbon footprint accounting for cigar production processes: A life cycle assessment perspective

Although the tobacco industry is a significant contributor to energy consumption and carbon emissions its negative environmental impact has received inadequate attention globally. Cigarette factories are a key link in the tobacco industry’s production chain, and using data provided by a cigarette factory in China we conduct a life cycle assessment to account for the carbon footprint of cigar production in cigarette factories. The results of the assessment show that factory air conditioning is the most important contributor to the environmental load of the cigar manufacturing process, while electricity is the key factor that contributes the greatest environmental load across all of the processes in the product life cycle. In addition, packaging, including small boxes and cigarette cartons, have a significant impact on the industry’s environmental footprint due to its use of raw materials. We find the carbon footprint of the entire production process for cigar products to be 383.59 kg CO₂ eq. Based on our findings, we suggest ways to optimize cigar/cigarette factory processes to reduce carbon emissions that can help to promote sustainable development in related industries.