Client
INCAPTO is a company founded in 2020 with the aim of offering an alternative to capsule coffee and providing a high-quality, functional, economical, and sustainable coffee experience. It offers specialty coffee beans and super-automatic coffee machines that grind the beans instantly. The company is committed to production models that combine fair prices for coffee growers with responsible farming. INCAPTO collaborates with circular economy projects to give a second life to coffee grounds and jute sacks. It has its own repair centre and/or technical assistance service.
It operates mainly online and is headquartered in Barcelona, with a logistics centre in Ripollet, a technical service in Barberà del Vallès, and a physical store in L’Illa Diagonal (Barcelona)
Challenge
To calculate the carbon footprint of a B2B machine in order to identify the stages of its life cycle with the highest emissions and propose actions to reduce them.
What was done?
A cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was carried out for a B2B automatic coffee machine. The methodology followed the ISO 14040 standard. It includes all stages of the product’s life cycle (both the machine and the coffee), from the extraction and sourcing of raw materials to the end of its useful life and post-use management.
The impact assessment method used was Environmental Footprint, and the Ecoinvent v3.9 database served as the reference.
Some actions were also proposed to reduce the carbon footprint of INCAPTO’s service.
Resultats
>80%
The environmental impact is mainly concentrated in the use phase, particularly due to coffee production (77%) and coffee waste management (10%).
8,4%
This is the total impact from the manufacturing of the machine, packaging, transport, and end of life.
3,4%
Impact associated with the use of electricity and water to operate the machine.
1,2%
Contribution from the coffee packaging and INCAPTO’s facilities, where beans are roasted and packed.
27%
Potential reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Conclusions
As a result, several actions are proposed, such as reducing the machine’s impact by incorporating recycled materials, selecting suppliers committed to decarbonisation, and promoting servitisation.
To reduce the coffee’s impact, the recommendation is to optimise the amount of coffee per cup and actively collaborate with coffee producers to reduce the impact of production.
The company has room for improvement to reduce both its own emissions and those of its products.
Thanks to this study, it has been possible to quantify and identify the areas with the highest impact, and create an objective basis to prioritise efforts and align the company’s strategy with sustainability.
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