1 – Build a Science Backed Carbon Aware Website to Fuel Consumers and Reforestation.
Zero Footprint Coffee starts with online coffee orders and ends in consumers cups … It is a grassroots initiative, engineered from the bottom up by our team of caring coffee-drinkers on a mission to address climate change and deliver better coffees to the marketplace.
Consumer support for this everyday nature based climate change solution is needed to ‘scale up’ Cafe Solar® and we are on a race to get as many coffee drinkers as possible ‘signed up’ in the shortest time possible. Our combined coffee math shows that a 10,000 subscribers based on a average 2lbs per month can act as the most important catalyst to advance Cafe Solar® in Central America. This is the 25 year scientific research and 100% renewable off-grid production development has been funded mostly to this point by grants to the non-profit Mesoamerican Development Institute, Merchants of Green Coffee marketing and funding and the direct sales of Cafe Solar® in North America for more than two decades. Today the program is at a an important intersection, the program has the science backing and the main question is ……Are consumers willing to pay approximately $0.03 cents more per cup to better their coffee? The answer plays a big part in determining investments in clean development, good governance and social justice…… just when the world is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict and climate change.
The partners behind this product have a 25 year (unsustainable and painful) history in sustainable coffee development. Learn more about us and check out our feeds and partners. We are transparent about our love of coffee and the hardships we undergo in order to move this program along.
Key features:
- Nearly three decades of on the ground scientific research, innovation and market development of intrinsic environmental, social and economic value sets for coffee.
- The first 100% off-grid coffee production (Cafe Solar®) tied directly to farm restoration and reforestation that is scalable to match industry demand.
- Starts with your order ... and no green-washing is used in the making of this product.
2 – Create Dynamic Blends of Forest-Restoring Coffees.
Cafe Solar® green beans are the heart and soul of this program; And every bag, pound, gram of Zero Footprint Coffee sold supports Cafe Solar® in one way or another. There is only one advanced solar powered coffee dryer in the world capable of approximately 250,000 lbs. of Tier 1 beans. This is a limited and important supply and this years harvest is underway. Zero Footprint Coffee is encouraging demand to build more green technology production facilities and advance Integrated Open Canopy™ ( IOC™ ) farming for carbon credits.
Zero Footprint Coffee blends are made with 50% Cafe Solar® Tier 1 beans and 50% of other certified specialty beans. The ‘other’ 50% of the blends are certified specialty coffees from Africa, Central and South America, Indonesia and Asia. These coffees carry a minimum of 1 and often 3 and 4 certifications. Details of all coffees and certifications in the blends are recorded, listed on the packaging and are traceable. These include, organic, fair trade, coop, women and direct traceable supply chains and every coffee has a story!
Zero Footprint Coffee enters into contracts with farmers agreeing to advance the IOC™ carbon sequestration. When the Tier 1 supply is finished which we are counting on, Zero Footprint Coffee will continue to source more farms and offset 100% of the footprint of other certified coffees used in blends. This blend will grow next years harvest of Cafe Solar® and show consumer demand as the most important factor in creating this clean supply of coffee.
All coffee blends crafted by regional experts in this area of coffee. This means they will taste great and reduce unnecessary shipping.
After more than 25 years on the ground and in the field of specialty coffee, it is terribly depressing to learn that there is no sustainable coffee in the world today. We are sad to report that the Cafe Solar® program may be the only chance for achieving truly sustainable coffee. Powerful global forces are at play, and the bitter truth is that the consumer is inconveniently caught up in the marketing and convenience of this wonderful beverage and wake-up drug.
Central America is a key coffee producer in which the region's forests and coffee farms are seriously threatened and Cafe Solar® is a shovel-ready solution. Currently there is only one operational off-grid facility/factory in Honduras; And therefore, a limited supply of this very special 100% off-grid processed coffee. This is just an economic truth about the state of investments in the entire region and the reason we are there.
Orders for Zero Footprint Coffee provide incentives to grow more trees and build renewable energy factories. More orders, more trees, and more Cafe Solar® factories.
There are 5 containers (17mt each or 37,500lbs) of specialty Tier 1 coffee available from this upcoming 2021/2022 harvest. (This is only 85mt or 180,00lbs—Not enough to supply large specialty roasters and too much for small- and medium-size specialty roasters).
The program; However, is purposefully designed to move global sustainability forward by accessing the ability of consumers (i.e. your orders). The faster Cafe Solar® coffee runs out, the faster we unlock development financing to build more off-grid factories and increase the supply of Forest-Restoring coffee).
Additional coffee roasting companies, (which are typically regional), will be able to participate when the program reaches a critical mass in their region. This supports proven supply chains and incorporates regional brands, tastes and supply variables.
Orders are roasted by participating and contracted regional specialty roasters, packaged in 100% easily recyclable packaging, and arrive at your door with a zero carbon footprint! Your repeat orders confirm the consumption of better coffee, which grows the program that grows trees and off-grid Cafe Solar® factories.
3 – Add a Zero Footprint Mission, Carbon Intel and Start Signing People Up!
Commitment to a zero footprint mission means that all certified coffees being roasted and sold as Zero Footprint Coffees are measured and 100% offset via IOC™ credits. As orders increase the transparent and evolving Carbon Calculating Intel becomes more accurate. This will help coordinate supply chain efficiencies.
Final carbon footprint costs of each order are centrally processed by Green Merchant Technologies (GMT) Carbon Calculations and are based on individual order details. GMT software is purposefully in is early stages and is designed to calculate and store the footprint of each order, then offset it using carbon credits generated at source by the production of Cafe Solar® coffee (via its forest-restoring program). Consumers can see the final carbon footprint calculation and offset cost of their order at the checkout page when signing up for a subscription. This program will award points that match the total offsets credited to a Zero Footprint Carbon Trust Account linked to your email address. Credits can be used in future transactions that have not been designed yet.
Customer data will never be shared with or sold to any organization that is not directly involved with the fulfillment of your order.