Blue Bottle Pledges Carbon Neutrality by 2024 with In-House Scheme

A Blue Bottle Coffee cup. “Quattro – Blue Bottle Coffee” by Fotois.com / Dmaniax.com / 246g.com is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Oakland, California-based specialty coffee chain Blue Bottle Coffee has pledged to reach a form of carbon neutrality by 2024. The commitment extends to its United States and Asia operations.

The company says the in-house carbon neutrality scheme will involve “fundamental” changes to its business operations and supply chain relationships, from more sustainable green coffee and other ingredient sourcing to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from logistics, production and retailing operations.

The company has also made a multiyear commitment to purchase carbon credits from the firm Carbon by Indigo, which supports U.S. farmers transitioning from conventional agricultural production to more sustainable models.

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Blue Bottle, which was acquired by Nestlé in 2017 and now boasts more than 100 retail shops in the U.S. and Asia, says that it plans to publish an accelerated roadmap in 2022 that will pave the way for carbon neutrality by 2024.

Last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped consumer behaviors and drove in-home sales, Blue Bottle enlisted the firm 3Degrees in a pledge to offset greenhouse gas emissions associated with e-commerce and coffee shipping in the U.S.

A carbon neutrality case study by 3Degrees highlights Blue Bottle’s existing sustainability initiatives, including forthcoming sustainability audits related to coffee purchasing, renewable energy certificate purchases to offset production and retail energy usage, a transition in Japan to oat milk as the default milk option instead of dairy, and waste reduction in cafes.

[Editor’s note: This story has been updated. The original version incorrectly stated that 2020 offsets for e-commerce shipping were made in the U.S. and Japan. Those offsets were for the U.S. market only.]