Memorial Day weekend is the second-biggest grilling weekend of the year, behind only the Fourth of July. Roughly three out of four American adults own a grill or smoker, and a lot of them are about to be lit. So, if you’ve ever wondered whether the charcoal kettle or the gas model is the “greener” pick, here’s the real answer.

Electric grills are best for our planet by far. The three most common options — charcoal, propane and electricity — don’t have roughly similar environmental impacts. They’re separated by a factor of three or more. And the “natural” choice, charcoal, is the most polluting of the bunch.

Grilling sits firmly in the Energy pathway: using energy efficiently and shifting toward cleaner sources. The energy decision you make about cooking your food is the same kind you make with a furnace or a car, just tastier!

The numbers in the coals

The most-cited research comes from Eric Johnson, who published a life-cycle comparison of charcoal and gas grilling in Environmental Impact Assessment Review in 2009. Johnson found that a typical charcoal session releases about 6,700 grams of CO₂ equivalent, counting everything from manufacturing to shipping to burning. A comparable propane session came in at around a third of that. The Department of Energy has put the hourly figures at roughly 5,000 grams for charcoal versus 2,500 for gas.

Two things drive the gap. First, charcoal manufacturing is extremely wasteful: only 20%–35% of the original wood’s energy ends up in the finished product, while propane keeps roughly 90% of its energy from wellhead to grill. Second, charcoal throws off heat long before the grates are ready and keeps going after the food comes off, while gas turns on and off with a knob.

There’s a fair counterpoint: charcoal comes from wood, a renewable resource, and if the trees are regrown, some CO₂ gets recaptured. But that claim depends on genuine replanting and doesn’t erase the energy lost in manufacturing or the emissions from shipping heavy bags across the country. The lighter fluid many people use to start briquettes adds volatile organic compounds to the mix — a local air-quality problem on top of the global climate one.

Where electric fits in

For years, electric grills were called the worst option, based on an outdated Oak Ridge National Laboratory estimate that assumed a coal-heavy power grid. That grid no longer exists. In 2007,
producing a kilowatt hour of U.S. electricity released about 598 grams of CO₂. By 2024, that had fallen to roughly 384 grams as wind, solar and natural gas displaced coal.

Run the math on a modern electric grill drawing 1.5 to 1.8 kilowatts, and an hour of cooking now produces roughly 600–700 grams of CO₂ — well below propane and a fraction of charcoal. If your electricity comes from solar, hydro, wind or nuclear power, the number drops further. This is the same logic behind heat pumps and electric vehicles: as the grid cleans up, everything plugged into it gets cleaner automatically.

One step toward sustainability this weekend

If you’re in the market for a new grill, electric is your best bet for the planet — and it will only get cleaner as our power grids improve. Pair it with a portable solar generator, and you’ve achieved a fully sustainable solution.

If you already own a gas grill, use it well. Preheat for 10 minutes rather than 20. Cook with the lid down. Turn it off the moment the food is done.

If charcoal is nonnegotiable for the smoke flavor, skip lighter fluid and use a chimney starter. Choose lump charcoal over briquettes from a brand that names its wood source. Light only as much as you need and put the lid on to hold heat.

One last thing matters more than the grill: what goes on it. The environmental impact of your food — especially red meat — typically dwarfs the footprint of the energy used to cook it. Grilling more vegetables, chicken or plant-based options is the highest-impact change you can make at any cookout.

This Memorial Day, honor our veterans and the unofficial start of summer with a cookout that’s a little lighter on our atmosphere by “firing up” an electric grill that’s heavier on the veggies and lighter on the meat.

Fred Horch and Peggy Siegle are principals of Sustainable Practice. To explore the Energy and Food pathways further, visit suspra.com. You can also pick up their new 2026 edition of “Your Earth Share: Seven Pathways to Sustainable Living” or any of their other publications at SustainablePractice.Life. Join their community of sustainable practitioners at that address for both benefits and books.

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