Carbon Footprint Report 2020
Intro
As part of Glen Lyon Coffee’s commitment to being certified as carbon neutral by the end of 2021 we are tracking our energy usage, carbon footprint and efforts to offset our carbon debt with tree planting. In October 2019 the team planted 155 Grey Willow in Glen Affric with Trees for Life to offset our carbon footprint in 2020. Our intention is to do this every year, although due to the Covid pandemic we were unable to plant trees as planned at the end of 2020.
Glen Lyon Coffee is very conscious of energy usage and we heat the roastery entirely with locally sourced wood in two wood burning stoves. Wood is considered to be carbon neutral as it is a renewable resource. We burn propane in our roasters which is a natural gas that produces as much as 38 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than fuel oil, gasoline, diesel and kerosene. Our electricity supplier SSE generates 21% of its power from renewable resources (wind).
The largest energy draw and contributor to global warming at the roastery is electricity (52%). As our research has revealed that this is our biggest energy requirement, Glen Lyon Coffee is committed to attempting to reduce this by using a more efficient 25 KG roaster that was installed in November 2020. We are in the process of replacing our old and inefficient espresso machine (Faema E61) with a modern eco model (Sanremo Café Racer). We also intend to install an initial bank of solar panels on our roastery roof by the end of 2022.
Below is a breakdown of the energy usage and our efforts to become a carbon neutral roastery. Please note that these figures are estimates and they are not externally audited. However they do indicate that, even if we include the CO2 produced from burning wood, Glen Lyon Coffee was carbon neutral in 2020 for Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Energy usage and carbon footprint for 2020
Propane usage for the burners in the coffee roastery
In 2020 the Roastery consumed 1,269 Kg of propane.
Each kg of propane produces 2.99 Kg of Co2
Total carbon emissions: 3,794 Kg of CO2
Logs for heating the roastery
In 2020 8m3 of logs were burnt at the roastery.
Each cubic meter of this wood weighs an estimated 780 Kg.
A total of 6240 Kg of wood was burnt in 2020.
Burning 1 kg of well-seasoned wood generates approximately 1.65 Kg of CO2.
Total carbon emission: 10,296 Kg of CO2
Electricity for the roasters, espresso machine and lights
In 2020 an estimated 3,939 KwH of electricity were consumed at the roastery.
An estimated 0.256 Kg of CO2 emission are produced for each kWh of mixed electricity generation.
Total Carbon emissions: 15,387 Kg of CO2
Taking into account the of 21% SSE energy that is renewable: 12,155 Kg of CO2
Grand Total (including wood) for 2020: 26,215 Kg
Total excluding wood which is carbon neutral for 2020: 15,919 Kg
Tree planting
We planted 188 Grey Willow in October 2019
UK forestry Commission estimates that an average of 160 Kg is sequestered by a single tree over 50 years.
188 trees planted equates to 30,080 Kg of carbon captured.
Carbon offset: 30,080 Kg of CO2