Espresso Roast
In order to record the greenhouse gas emissions caused by greenes² Espresso Roast, the individual steps in its life cycle were examined in a comprehensive process. A laboratory analysis determined that greenes² Espresso Roast is an "organic" product from organic farming. The attributable emissions of greenes² Espresso Roast from 12/2021 to 12/2022 were offset by a climate protection project in Brazil.
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
The greenes²-Espresso Roast with the PCF code 21114 under the special preparation conditions of the canteen of the Studierendenwerk Mannheim. It is a blend of 30 % India Monsooned Canephora, 30 % Brazil Fazenda Ipiranga and 40 % Colombia Finca la Secreta.
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 qualified benefit of the product system was one cup with 25ml espressoprepared from 7g greenes² espresso roast. This is used as a representative reference value.
RAW MATERIAL EXTRACTION
Greenes² Espresso Roast produces almost 60% of greenhouse gas emissions during raw material extraction. Almost half of this is due to fertilization. In a Laboratory analysis it was determined that greenes² Espresso Roast is a product from organic farming and can therefore be declared as "organic". Only organic fertilizers were used for fertilization and no mineral fertilizers, which would cause around 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 canteen of the Studierendenwerk Mannheim, 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 Brazil was selected and supported for this purpose. This project uses a hydroelectric power plant to provide low-emission renewable energy, replacing fossil fuels. By recording the greenhouse gas emissions of the two greenes² coffees over their entire life cycle and offsetting them together, the greenes² Coffee Roast and the greenes² Espresso Roast are the first of many greenes² products to be called "climate neutral" at the Mannheim Student Union!
