Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the study of the entire value chain of a product, from its birth to its disappearance, from the extraction of raw materials to the disappearance of the product. At each stage of the product's life, emissions are generated. LCA allows us to evaluate the nature and volume of these emissions, and to add them up in order to report them to a consumed unit. Within the framework of The Coffee Tree, we are interested in the coffee cup.
What are the differences between an LCA and the Bilan Carbone®?
On the one hand, the Bilan Carbone® is interested in the whole company and therefore evaluates the CO2 emissions of the organization. The LCA, on the other hand, carried out according to the standards in force, focuses on a product. In our case, the coffee cup.
On the other hand, LCA or life cycle analysis focuses on four main indicators of climate impact.
What GHGs are taken into account?
The indicators taken into account in the LCA are the factors of global warming, those of air acidification, those of terrestrial eutrophication and finally, those of the depletion of the ozone layer.
Are there any international standards for objectively performing LCA?
Yes, and that's why we chose the European leader in LCA. The standard in force is ISO 14040.
What is the purpose of LCA?
So it helps to answer the fundamental question: how many emissions do I emit when I drink the best coffee? How to get the best emotions and the lowest emissions?
What are the results for L'Arbre à Café?
The result established by EcoAct has delighted us and is a reward for all the consistency we have been implementing for more than 10 years. And, we promise, we will continue to improve: each cup of coffee has a footprint of 20.9 g Co2.
How do we achieve such a performance?
It is the fruit of a multitude of actions and especially of an intrinsic conviction of the project. The harmony between the Earth and the people is our first mission. To consider man and nature as a whole and not as a duality, too.
What are the strengths of L'Arbre à Café in terms of ecological sobriety?
One of the major differences with normal coffee, and this is not a surprise, is at the plantation. Sustainable agriculture, and particularly biodynamic and agroecology, is extremely efficient, not only for the taste but also for the environment. It is always more economical to produce your own fertilizers and compost on the spot, rather than buying fossil chemical inputs from outside and often from abroad.... The soil of our plantations are better for the coffee, for the people and for the earth.
What is the other strong point?
The packaging is undoubtedly the other strong point of L'Arbre à Café, especially when compared to aluminum pods. And we are going to do better, because our new packaging is even more virtuous!
What does this mean to you?
That L'Arbre à Café coffee is among the most virtuous roasters on the planet. This means above all that whether you drink a cup of L'Arbre à Café at home, in L'Arbre à Café stores, at our restaurant partners, alone or with friends, you will have a minimal emission for a maximum emotion!
The life cycle of the coffee you consume at L'Arbre à Café
Because a picture is often worth a thousand words, here is the life cycle of the coffee you consume at L'Arbre à café
