Caravela Coffee becomes world’s first green coffee trader to achieve Carbon Neutral Silver Standard

Caravela Coffee has become the world’s first green coffee trading company to achieve Carbon Neutral Standard for its operations across the globe and join the United Nations Climate Neutral Now Initiative. One Carbon World, a UK-based organisation that helps organisations achieve carbon neutrality, verified Caravela’s carbon footprint measurements across its 11 different operations around the world.

One Carbon World verified Caravela’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 of the operations that it controls (covered under scopes 1, 2 and 3 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol) equivalent to 1,632 tons of CO2e, which represented a 19.5% reduction versus the previous year’s footprint thanks to a reduction in travel and employee commuting because of the pandemic. One Carbon World also helped offset the totality of the verified footprint through the purchase of verified carbon credits from the La Pitanga/Weyerhaeuser reforestation project in Uruguay which is verified by Rainforest Alliance, and is projected to remove more than 5.6 million tons of CO2e over its lifetime, as well as carbon credits retired from the UN’s platform.

Caravela’s journey to carbon neutrality started in 2017 by measuring its carbon footprint and understanding which areas of their operations generated the most emissions. Since then, it has implemented strategies to reduce its emissions, including the upgrading in 2019 of the equipment and the installation of solar panels on the roof of its dry mill in Armenia, Colombia. These initiatives have helped reduce its energy consumption per bag milled by 30% over the last 2 years. It is also buying clean energy in its offices in the UK and the USA and reducing the use of paper and plastic, as well as committing to buying most of its supplies domestically in each country.

During the last four years Caravela has offset its calculated carbon emissions. For example, in 2018 and 2019 it voluntarily offset its calculated carbon footprint by partnering with MasBosques and CARDER, a Colombian environmental NGO and a regional environmental agency, respectively, providing direct economic support to 12 coffee growing families in Risaralda, Colombia, who are protecting 23 hectares of native forests that are carbon sinks. The company is committed to supporting these families over the next few years even though it is now buying verified carbon credits to offset its carbon footprint.

Alejandro Cadena, CEO of Caravela, said: “We are extremely proud of this achievement of reaching carbon neutrality of our operations worldwide. Climate change is one of the starkest challenges that coffee growers (and everyone) around the world face. Evidence of the effects of global warming can already be seen in coffee growing regions: excess rains or droughts, extreme temperatures, and shifting seasons. By doing our part we hope to help mitigate the impact that our operations have on the planet and coffee farmers worldwide. But this is only the first step in doing our share to start healing our ailing planet. By 2025, we aim to have every kilogram of green coffee we purchase certified as carbon neutral, by working alongside our partner growers to implement climate-friendly practices on their farms. Our mission of making coffee better doesn’t stop at flavour; it also entails making our supply chain greener.”

One Carbon World CEO Andrew Bowen said: ‘We are thrilled to announce that Caravela Coffee has achieved carbon neutrality for all the footprint that was measured. At One Carbon World, we are really proud of their achievements, and we are determined to support Caravela Coffee in their commitment to sustainability and responsible sourcing throughout their entire supply chain. We are ready to work together to continue tackling climate change and ensuring the protection of our planet and local communities! Congratulations!”

Caravela states that if we want to ensure coffee’s survival, we must support sustainable production – not only socially and economically, but environmentally as well. Buying coffee from a greener supply chain not only helps the planet, it generates awareness and encourages more people to contribute to a lasting future for coffee. Caravela invites everyone in the industry to invest in a better and greener coffee model. With the support of the entire value chain – roasters, consumers, and everyone else involved in coffee’s journey from flower to beverage, Caravels believes we can generate awareness of the biggest challenges facing coffee, and work together in finding solutions to these threats.

To learn more about Caravela’s ongoing sustainability efforts, visit: https://caravela.coffee.