Freiburg Student Union
Café Crème
In order to record the greenhouse gas emissions caused by Café Crème from the Studierendenwerk Freiburg, the individual steps in its life cycle were examined in a comprehensive process. A laboratory analysis determined that Café Crème from the Studierendenwerk Freiburg is an "organic" product from organic farming. The emissions attributable to Café Crème from the Studierendenwerk Freiburg until 09/2023 were offset by a climate protection project in the Philippines.
Current until 09/2023
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
The Café Crème of the Studierendenwerk Freiburg with the PCF code 22073, this is a Fairtrade-certified organic coffee from the Peruvian highlands. The product from the manufacturer Westhoff is called Café Manos Café Crème.
ACCOUNTING LIMITS
The Product Carbon Footprint takes into account the entire life cycle of the product from Raw material extraction, production and product use up to Disposal, as well as all Packaging and transport within this chain.
FUNCTIONAL UNIT
The unit of comparison for the quantified benefit of the product system was one cup with 120ml coffeeprepared from 8.5g Café Manos Café Crème. This is used as a representative reference value.
RAW MATERIAL EXTRACTION
Over 55% of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the extraction of raw materials. Over half of this is attributable to fertilization. In a Laboratory analysis it was established that the coffee beans used by the Studierendenwerk Freiburg come from organic farming and can therefore be declared as "organic". Only organic fertilizers were used for fertilization and not mineral fertilizers, which would cause around six times the emissions. This has already significantly reduced the largest product-specific emissions hotspot.
DISPOSAL
The coffee grounds and all packaging were considered for disposal.
PRODUCTION
In the production step, the roasting of the beans by the coffee roaster at the Westhoff roasting plant in Bremen was considered. The energy for roasting is provided by natural gas.
DISTRIBUTION
In terms of distribution, the transportation of the beans from Peru to the Westhoff roasting plant in Bremen and the transportation from the roasting plant to the individual locations of the Studierendenwerk Freiburg were considered. Delivery from Peru to Bremen is by ship. This type of transport is significantly lower in emissions than transportation by plane. The roasted beans are shipped to the individual locations of the Studierendenwerk Freiburg using DHL Go Green and are therefore climate-neutral.
PRODUCT USE
In terms of product use, coffee preparation was considered under the specific conditions of the canteens and cafés of the Studierendenwerk Freiburg. By using green electricity, only a fraction of the energy-related emissions are generated compared to the conventional electricity mix. In 95% of cases, cups with a long service life are used to serve coffee.
CONCLUSION
Thanks to the avoidance of mineral fertilizers in coffee cultivation, the use of green electricity for preparation and the predominant avoidance of disposable cups, the product-specific emission hotspots have been optimized.
Climate-neutral product
To ensure accountability for the remaining optimized emissions, these were offset through UN-certified offsets. A carefully reviewed project in the Philippines was selected and supported for this purpose. The Burgos Wind Project enables the supply of renewable energy that could not be provided, operated, and maintained without the offset funds. The technical implementation of this offset project was achieved through the construction and maintenance of 50 wind turbines, each with a nominal output of 3 MW. Participation in the project brings a host of other benefits, in addition to global savings in greenhouse gas equivalent emissions. These include the involvement of local governments and communities to raise awareness of environmental protection, the creation of numerous new jobs, and the associated technology and knowledge transfer for the generation of energy from renewable sources.
By recording and offsetting the responsible greenhouse gas emissions of the product over its entire life cycle, the Café Crème of the Studierendenwerk Freiburg may be called "climate neutral" for the validity period 15.09.2022 - 15.09.2023! The contribution to saving greenhouse gas equivalent emissions for the product is 10 t CO2e. The acquired certificates are assigned via the reference VC24730/2022 with the numbers 3489065 to 3489074.
