We have come to a period where we need to take more responsibility for our resources that are in danger due to population growth, uncontrolled use of resources and a consumption-oriented life. In this period when the bells are ringing for everyone, the linear economy with the logic of “take, consume, throw away” should quickly give way to the circular economy with the logic of “take as much as you need, spend what you get on production, do not throw away your waste and recycle it into the system”.
Coffee's place in the world market is growing day by day, and its place among the top 10 commodities is climbing up. In the area where consumption is, there is a sustainable production/agriculture that will meet it more than enough, as well as sustainable logistics and waste management/control. A sectoral tendency and even pressure is necessary for the development of awareness on the use of natural resources in all of agriculture. In this period when we start to come across scenarios where production in agriculture for quality coffee is now passed on to the young generation, sustainability steps have slowly begun to be taken.
Sustainability is a holistic process. In this article, we will discuss what happens in every process from the soil to the retailer. The article that will come right after this article will be about what should happen under the name of sustainability in coffee, what should we pay attention to and draw attention to.
Sustainable agriculture includes environmentally friendly practices such as better crop and water management. Carbon footprint is a topic we are all slowly starting to hear about, and there is one that we are not as familiar with, and that is the water footprint. Carbon footprint is a metric system that measures the greenhouse gas emissions of a product, activity or organization. It is usually expressed in units of carbon dioxide (CO2). Water footprint is a metric system that measures the water use of a product, activity or organization. Water footprint calculates all water use and is usually expressed in units of liters or cubic meters.
One of the objectives of the International Coffee Agreement 2007 is to encourage members to develop an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable coffee sector. This is supported by Article 36 and refers to the principles and objectives adopted in Agenda 21, adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, and the World Summit on Sustainable Development. The organization works to raise awareness among stakeholders in the coffee sector that adverse economic conditions for producers pose a threat to sustainability and to draw attention to the need for a sustainable coffee economy by proposing measures in areas such as quality, promotion and diversification to maintain balance in the world coffee market. Recognizing the exceptional importance of coffee for the economies of many countries, it promotes sustainable development and poverty reduction in countries that are heavily dependent on this commodity for their export earnings and the achievement of social economic development goals.
Coffee is a very large market that provides employment for 125 million people in the world. Before it enters your cup every morning, coffee goes on a long journey. This journey begins with farmers growing coffee trees for three to four years until their first harvest. Then, it reaches us through various stops. However, this journey is not as easy as it seems. Approximately 1/3 of the world's land is covered in forests, but we are losing an average of 134 million hectares of forest every year. Moreover, most of the deforestation occurs in Africa and South America, which are the main geographies where coffee is grown.
The production of coffee plants using unsustainable agricultural methods is as follows;
Monoculture: Monoculture is the intensive cultivation of the same type of plants in a large area. It is a method frequently used in coffee plantations. Monoculture reduces biodiversity, increases soil erosion, and causes the spread of pests and disease outbreaks.
Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides: Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are common agricultural chemicals used to promote the growth of coffee plants and control pests. However, excessive use of these chemicals can cause soil and water pollution, biodiversity loss, and health problems. Additionally, improper use of these chemicals damages ecosystems and groundwater resources.
Deforestation: Some coffee growers expand their coffee plantations by destroying forest areas. Deforestation causes biodiversity loss, soil erosion, and habitat destruction. Deforestation also contributes to climate change because forests have the capacity to absorb and store carbon emissions.
These unsustainable methods lead to depletion of natural resources, environmental problems, and in the long run, economic and social problems for coffee growers and consumer communities.
We mentioned above what carbon and water footprints are. Coffee-specific carbon footprint is a measure of greenhouse gas emissions emitted during coffee production and consumption. Coffee’s carbon footprint is affected by factors such as farming practices, energy use, processing and transportation. Sustainable agriculture and energy efficiency measures are just the beginning of reducing coffee’s carbon footprint.
The water footprint of coffee refers to the amount of water used in the coffee production process. Water consumption occurs in stages such as coffee growing, irrigation, processing and cleaning. In sustainable agricultural practices, the effective use of water resources and the reuse of water used in the coffee processing process, as well as the use of natural filtering methods, are essential for studies to reduce the water footprint of coffee.
There is a huge loss of biodiversity due to chemical runoff from coffee farms into rivers. The most worrying aspect of coffee farming is the amount of water used to harvest a good batch of coffee. According to the Water Footprint Network, it takes 140 litres of water to produce 125 millilitres of wet-processed coffee. And it is estimated that it takes around 170 litres of water to brew one cup of coffee. Now, if you do the math, this number is a staggering representation of our ever-growing water footprint. You might wonder if this effect is reversible. Unfortunately, it is largely irreversible. Water scarcity is already a major concern and is expected to worsen in the coming decades due to climate change. Therefore, it is clear that a more sustainable approach needs to be considered.
We looked at the coffee farming part from a broad perspective, but what processes make negative contributions to the sustainability stages after the coffee growing stage?
Harvesting coffee,
Coffee harvesting is a manual, labor-intensive system that results in workers facing long working hours and low wages. Additionally, the excessive use of water resources and energy during harvesting can be unsustainable.
Here we would like to open a parenthesis and provide information. Intensive labor, long working hours, why and how should they have a negative impact on sustainability? The question may come to mind. For this, it is necessary to have at least some knowledge of the green consensus.
The goal set by the United Nations to achieve sustainable development by 2030 and to make the world carbon neutral by 2055 states that; poverty, preventing hunger, sustainable agriculture, gender equality, promoting human employment and decent work, reducing inequality and creating a just society (and 17 goals along with these) are all my greatest ambitions. And sustainability can only be achieved when these 17 rules are applied. That is why the emphasis on manual harvesting above is important.
Packaging of Coffee Harvest,
Traditionally, unsustainable plastic packaging is used for transporting and storing coffee products, and is therefore not recyclable. Unfortunately, these packaging materials are made from petroleum derivatives and continue to be used because they are convenient and cheap.
Coffee Logistics,
Logistics is an indispensable option to reach all manufactured products in the world. The broken supply chain system after the pandemic has caused disruptions in many areas. However, unfortunately, access to a product has great costs. Coffee is usually transported long distances from production areas to consumption centers. Long transportation distances result in high energy consumption, carbon emissions and fossil fuel use. These vehicles emit high amounts of carbon emissions, contributing greatly to air pollution, climate change and global warming. In addition, factors such as inefficient transportation processes and empty returns also cause inefficient use of energy resources.
Storage Conditions,
Coffee storage requires attention, depending on environmental conditions and humidity control. Inadequate storage conditions can negatively affect coffee quality and cause product losses. This means that more coffee needs to be produced, which increases the pressure on natural resources.
Packaging Materials,
Coffee is packaged during transportation and storage. Traditionally, plastic materials are used in coffee packaging. Plastic packaging can cause environmental pollution by creating long-term insoluble waste. In addition, the production and disposal of plastic also increases the carbon footprint. There are two types of packaging here. There are two types of packaging other than post-harvest packaging. The first is the packaging used when the coffee is offered for retail sale as beans, and the second is the packaging that reduces the coffee to a cup (with plastic coating) after it is brewed. Unfortunately, both of these methods produce a significant amount of plastic waste.
Coffee Brewing,
We opened this section as a separate heading because the use of disposable coffee filters, straws and even plastic forks and spoons in the sector cause major environmental problems.
Coffee Waste,
One of the things that cause sectoral bottlenecks in coffee is the waste produced by coffee. First of all, coffee husk waste that occurs during the coffee processing phase, coffee bran (coffee silverskin, coffee chaff), which is the thin membrane layer found inside the coffee beans and is separated as a by-product while roasting the coffee, and finally, spent coffee ground, which is defined as the waste type that remains in the porta filter when the dissolution is finished with high pressure and temperature during the brewing of the coffee.
With the coffee sector developing so much and coffee consumption increasing so much, as we see when we examine it under the headings, the negative contribution to the carbon footprint and water footprint is quite large. Unfortunately, there is no information that tracks the exact figures regarding the carbon footprint and water footprint data of the coffee sector worldwide in an up-to-date and detailed manner. The consumption model, where individual awareness is at the forefront in this regard, should soon show itself in every field and the contribution of selectivity to the world of sustainability in individual consumption orientations should be placed as the primary condition.
DUYGU KURTULUŞ
Co-Founder / Chemist / Nanotechnology Engineer / Hazardous Chemical Consultant / Chemical Evaluation Specialist / Sustainability Expert