A LOW CARBON DIET

Every food or drink item we put into our supermarket trolley or order at a coffee bar has a hidden story of greenhouse gas emis- sions behind it. From the carbon released through tilling soil and converting forests to cropland and pasture, to emissions from fertilizers used to grow the ingredients, the fuel used by farm machinery, the transport emissions to get the product to the shelf, and the energy required to make the packaging—all of these form part of the climate footprint of the consumer as we make everyday choices of what to eat and drink.

In total, agriculture is reckoned to account for about 13 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions covered by the Kyoto Protocol.

Accounting for the true climate impacts of food and drink is es- pecially challenging, as these products often involve very long and complex chains of production and distribution. But some companies in this sector have embraced the climate neutral concept, and find it can help cut costs as well as motivating both staff and customers.

In the case of Dole Fresh Fruit International, the decision to move towards climate-neutral production of pineapples and bananas in Costa Rica formed part of the country’s own ambi- tion to become climate neutral by 2021. As one of the world’s leading exporters of these fruits to the United States and Eu- rope, Dole has great scope to find ways of minimizing the sig- nificant emissions involved in getting its products to market.

The first stage, as with all companies seeking carbon neutrality, is to work out the scope or boundaries of the emissions to be measured, and to calculate the current footprint. Dole’s inven- tory, recently completed, has included the emissions associat- ed with agricultural production, and with transport of the fruit, both by land and by ocean.

The company’s strategy to reduce emissions includes looking at some innovative solutions. For example, research is under way on the use of live leguminous trees instead of concrete posts to prop up banana plants. As well as cutting down the

emissions needed to make the concrete, the trees themselves capture carbon and add nitrogen to the soil.

Other measures include controlled-release fertilizers to cut down on emissions of nitrous oxide (the third most significant greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide and methane), training of machine operators to minimize fuel use, and various initiatives to save on transport emissions.

To offset the emissions involved in getting its fruit to Costa Rica’s ports, Dole contributes to the country’s Environmental Ser- vices Payment Programme, providing incentives to small farmers in the country to reforest areas and to look after the trees.

Dole’s director of environment and food safety, Rudy Amador, says the process of looking at the company’s climate footprint has already brought tangible benefits, such as fuel savings amounting to a cut of a thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year, and savings to employees on their own fuel bills through training on efficient vehicle use.

“You don't need to measure every last emission to take ac- tion,” says Amador. “While analysing your business from the climate change perspective, opportunities for improvements are identified that can be implemented right away or in the near term.”

Cost savings through carbon neutrality are also being discov- ered by a food company working in a very different environ- ment, Norway’s leading coffee-roasting company Kaffehuset Friele. The biggest step being taken by the company is to switch its roaster from fuel oil to gas, estimated to save about 500 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

To account for the company’s remaining emissions, Friele is investing in two carbon reduction projects in coffee-growing countries: a small hydro scheme in Brazil certified by the UN Clean Development Mechanism, and a project in Kenya to make biodiesel from jatropha plants, a scheme attracting Gold Standard certification.

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