WITH 100% compostable coffee capsules made from thistles, a doubling of investment in sustainability from €2.7million in 2012 to €5.8 million in 2014, and emissions reductions of 17% per tonne of processed coffee, the first Lavazza sustainability report is part of the coffee roasters plan to develop a ‘360 degree sustainability vision’.
Prepared accounting to Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, and launched on the company’s 120 year anniversary, the world’s seventh largest coffee roaster is significantly upscaling its sustainability-related spend whilst reducing impacts.
Whilst the reports lacks some traditional features – such as future emissions targets, it does highlight some significant achievements. These include the supply of 100% of renewable, electrical energy for the operations of the Italian production plants and an increase in donations to the The Giuseppe and Pericle Lavazza Foundation.
These have gone from €750,000 in 2012 to approximately €2 million in 2014. This allowed the Foundation to support 34 projects in 11 countries and on three continents, involving more than 65,000 coffee growers.
The launch of the world’s first compostable coffee in 2016 should help address environmental concerns over single use coffee pods. These are hard to recycle as they are made from their composite materials. The compostable pod is made from a biodegradeable, thistle-based bio-polymer. The pod can be collected for industrial composting without the need for separation.
