Costa has set itself a target of becoming Net Zero by 2040, which includes the use of 100% renewable gas at its roastery, and improving farming practices. The plan has been approved by the Science-Based Target initiative. 2040 is 10 years earlier than the date set by scientists as the latest to prevent the worst impact of climate damage.
It is the scope 3 class of emissions that are the most challenging to reach a net-zero goal because these emissions originate in your supply chain rather than directly from your own processes. According to Costa, only 5% of its current emissions come from scope 1 and 2, i.e. from direct processes. That leaves a whopping 95% that must be dealt with in the scope 3 classification.
A lot of companies are in a similar position, and it’s going to be interesting to see the emerging strategies of dealing with scope 3 emissions. The Temptation, of course, will be to offset them with carbon credits, but I’m hoping for a more imaginative and practical way to address the problem.
We know that reducing our emissions by half per coffee serving and ultimately reaching net-zero is going to take a lot of collective effort from all of us at Costa Coffee – from our team members and partners to our suppliers and consumers.
Deb Caldow, Sustainability Director
