Science, industry research and carbon calculators agree that coffee production is a key cause of coffee’s carbon footprint. However, the carbon footprint of green coffee production varies depending on the specific farming and production methods. Some studies calculate emissions to be as low as 0.5 Kg per kilogram of green coffee at milling. Other researchers estimate the carbon footprint of green coffee to be as high as 12 Kg per kilogram.

With such a large range, how can coffee businesses identify an accurate figure to estimate their carbon footprint?

This article explains that there is currently no good way to pick a figure. Plus, the carbon models require updating, so any figure you choose is likely to be wrong. At present the uncertainty is so great that, for most coffee businesses, calculating your green's carbon footprint is a fool’s errand.

There are, however, a number of workarounds. We explain where the science is at, what scientists are current doing to improve the accuracy of carbon calculators and how you can start cutting your carbon footprint now.

This article was originally published on United Baristas. You can read the full article and view the references at https://unitedbaristas.com/articles/insights/green-coffee-carbon-calculators-are-wildly-inaccurate/

And how are you cutting your coffee's footprint? There's many things you can do from crop to cup. Feel free to drop us a line and tell us what you're doing, United Baristas is on all the usual channels.

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