Understanding a business's carbon footprint and the cradle-to-grave impact of its activities requires complex analysis. It's something we've thought a lot about—and are committed to continuing to experiment, iterate and improve our carbon footprint and environmental sustainability.
Our coffees are carefully sourced to ensure that the farms we buy from are engaging in responsible environmental stewardship—both in terms of production methods as well as post-harvest processing. What that means specifically for a farm will vary based on its scale and its own activities—and you should read the write-ups for individual coffees to understand more. Broadly, we purchase from coffee farmers that utilize shade and agroforestry methods of production, pursue water conservation (and cleaning of waste water) and protect native forests or lands traditionally used by indigenous peoples.
Once milled and exported, coffee must be transported to the U.S. for roasting. On a per-pound basis, the most carbon-effective means of transporting goods from long distances (such as from coffee producing regions to the U.S.) is via ocean freight; when possible, we do ship via the water, using our skill and knowledge of green coffee to ensure that quality will not be compromised over the length of this journey.
Upon arrival, we roast coffee using an electric coffee roaster. In the state of Ohio, where Aviary is located, the utility market is deregulated, allowing consumers to select their electric generation supplier through a marketplace. We have selected a supplier that produces electricity solely through green methods (solar and wind) so that our roasting does not consume fossil fuels at any stage.
In terms of packaging: Coffee production involves waste. This is a simple, uncomfortable fact which we must reconcile with—and yet maintain a willingness to engage with our supply chains and patterns of consumption to move toward iterative solutions that will reduce our environmental impact and carbon footprint. Single-use packaging used industry-wide is clearly an issue. In the U.S., FDA makes clear using no uncertain terms: To sell coffee, it must be packaged and sealed in some sort of barrier to protect it from oxygen, moisture, oil or contamination—typically with a metal or non-renewable oil-derived liner.
Because industrial composting services are limited in our primary market (the United States) and home composting is inaccessible to most, we opted to make our bags from 100% recyclable Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), which can be recycled anywhere plastic bottles labeled with No. 4 are recycled. The outer box and inner card—a necessary additional layer of barrier because of the porosity of LDPE—are also fully recyclable.
Once packaged, coffee is shipped and transported primarily using vehicles that burn fossil fuels and create emissions. To mitigate this, our web store is powered by Shopify Planet—every order shipped through is carbon neutral.
For wholesale orders—including local deliveries—we will ship via common carrier (UPS or Fedex). We believe this fulfillment method is the one with the least climate impact available to us: If every company operated its own delivery vehicle to deliver orders, it would increase road congestion, maintenance requirements, fossil fuel consumption and emissions—but a consolidated shipper can route those orders more efficiently and reduce overall emissions.