Corporate Partners Spotlight: Counter Culture Coffee Goes Carbon Neutral

by Megan Maiolo-Heath, Communications Coordinator

 

Counter Culture Coffee stands out for many reasons; it is a different kind of coffee company. They are dedicated to finding and bringing to market the most exciting, authentic, and delicious coffees in the world. Counter Culture approaches their work “with a passion for the ideal of coffee perfection, a dedication to real sustainability, and a commitment to cutting-edge education throughout the coffee chain.”

“Building a sustainable business is central to Counter Culture Coffee’s mission. We strive to be leaders in sustainable coffee and combine our commitment to buying high-quality coffee with respect for the natural environment.”

In 2009, Counter Culture Coffee started down the road of carbon neutrality by calculating the carbon footprint of Finca Mauritania’s coffee from seed to cup (read all about this journey here). They set a goal of going carbon neutral by 2015 and got to work. They enlisted Vancouver-based company, Climate Smart, to calculate their total annual emissions: 576 tonnes of greenhouse gas.

In 2011, we were excited to receive a call from Counter Culture about helping them offset their emissions through our clean cookstove projects. The idea of working directly with one of Counter Culture’s coffee cooperatives to build cookstoves was an ideal carbon offset opportunity and we were honored to help such a progressive company meet their sustainability goals.

Together, we will provide 76 COMSA Coffee Cooperative members in Marcala, La Paz, Honduras with clean cookstoves, saving these families a significant amount of money on fuelwood costs while, at the same time, greatly reducing indoor air pollution in their homes and deforestation rates in the area. Each Justa cookstove model that we build saves 1.5 tons of carbon emissions per year. Over the stove’s minimum projected lifespan of 5 years, that equates to 7.5 tons of carbon.

We look forward to working with Counter Culture Coffee well into the future and we are proud to be their offset partner, working together to meet an important carbon neutrality goal.

To learn more about Counter Culture Coffee’s sustainability programs click here.

From fuelwood and emissions studies conducted by independent monitors, each of TWP’s Justa clean cookstoves saves 1.5 tons of carbon emissions per year.