Coffee Roast
To determine the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the greenes² Coffee Roast, a comprehensive process was conducted to examine each step of its life cycle. Laboratory analysis determined that the greenes² Coffee Roast is an "organic" product from organic farming. The attributable emissions from the greenes² Coffee Roast from December 2022 to December 2023 were offset through a climate protection project in the Philippines.
Period under review from 12/2022 to 12/2023
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
The greenes² Coffee Roast with the PCF identifier 22123, prepared under the specific preparation conditions in the Mannheim Student Union cafeteria. It is a blend of 40% India Monsooned Malabar Arabica, 30% Ethiopia Sidamo Riff Valey, and 30% Brazil Monte Belo.
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 a cup of 125ml coffee, prepared from 7g of greenes² coffee roast, was chosen. This is used as a representative reference value.
RAW MATERIAL EXTRACTION
Over 50% of the greenhouse gas emissions from the greenes² Coffee Roast are generated during raw material extraction. More than half of this is due to fertilization. Laboratory analysis It was determined that greenes² Coffee Roast is a product from organic farming, which can therefore be declared "organic." Only organic fertilizers were used for fertilization, and no mineral fertilizers, which would cause approximately six times the emissions. This has already significantly reduced the largest product-specific emissions hotspot.
DISPOSAL
Coffee grounds were considered for disposal. Wastewater and packaging were directly allocated to the respective production step.
PRODUCTION
The production step examined the roasting of the beans by the coffee roaster at the Lauri roastery in Mannheim. The energy for the roasting process is provided by natural gas.
DISTRIBUTION
During distribution, transport and packaging were considered. The majority of the transport from the countries of origin (India, Ethiopia, and Brazil) is by ship. This mode of transport produces significantly fewer emissions than air transport. From Hamburg, the beans are transported to Mannheim by truck. A reusable bucket system is used to transport the roasted beans from the roastery to the cafeteria, reducing emissions from packaging.
PRODUCT USE
When examining product usage, coffee preparation was examined under the specific conditions of the Mannheim Student Union cafeteria. Because electricity from renewable energy generation is used, only a fraction of the energy-related emissions are generated compared to a conventional electricity mix. When preparing coffee at home using a conventional electricity mix instead of green electricity, these emissions can be up to 100 times higher and thus represent the largest portion of the product's emissions. Consequently, the coffee maker can significantly influence the amount of emissions from a cup of coffee through their choice of energy source. Furthermore, disposable cups are avoided when serving coffee in the cafeteria, and instead only cups with a long service life are used. This reduced emissions from the provision of containers by a factor of 10.
CONCLUSION
Thanks to the avoidance of mineral fertilizers in coffee cultivation, the use of electricity from renewable energy generation in preparation and the elimination of disposable cups in the cafeteria, the product-specific emission hotspots could be 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 greenhouse gas emissions attributable to the products over their entire life cycle, the greenes² Coffee Roast and Espresso from the Mannheim Student Union can be called "climate neutral" for the period from December 31, 2022 to December 31, 2023. The contribution to saving greenhouse gas equivalent emissions amounts to 16 kg CO2e for the coffee roast and 11 kg CO2e for the espresso. The acquired certificates are assigned using the reference VC24730/2022 with the number 3489086.
