Creative Commons Photo courtesy WGyuri's Photostream

If you’ve ever sat there wondering what the carbon footprint of, say, your glass of Tropicana orange juice (for example, at random), well - Tropicana’s way ahead of you. PepsiCo, the company that owns Tropicana, took the initiative and decided to find out the carbon footprint for its juice brand. The New York Times reports:

PepsiCo hired experts to do the math, measuring the emissions from such energy-intensive tasks as running a factory and transporting heavy juice cartons. But it turned out that the biggest single source of emissions was simply growing oranges. Citrus groves use a lot of nitrogen fertilizer, which requires natural gas to make and can turn into a potent greenhouse gas when it is spread on fields.

It turns out that a half-gallon of Tropicana creates 3.75 pounds of carbon dioxide. The company hasn’t decided how to use that information yet, because, you know, no one really knows what that means. But it’s a shrewd marketing move, if used correctly.

PepsiCo is among the first that will provide consumers with an absolute number for a product’s carbon footprint, which many expect to be a trend. The information will be posted on Tropicana’s Web site. The company has not yet decided if it will eventually put it on the package.

It’s an interesting idea, and I’m wondering how it will play out. If you’d like to figure out YOUR carbon footprint, takepart and do so here.