Coffee to Go: Life of a Coffee Cup
An evaluation of sustainability impacts during the lifecycle of
the paper coffee cups used in the BTH cafeteria
Do we really need disposable coffee cups?
Current market desires
How market desires relate to human needs
Consumer (drinkers)
• Freedom to carry drinks out of cafe
• Prefer not to remember and carry travel mugs
• Cups currently free
• Can ease fulfillment of subsistence
• Can facilitate simulateous fullfillment of other needs
(participation, understanding, creativity etc.)
• Convenience could lead to caffeine dependence impeding
the individual’s ability to fulfill other needs
Customers (cafes, restaurants, cafeterias)
• Allows the shop to sell a greater quantity because
seating does not have to be provided for every customer New market desires that could improve
• Stackable and transportable
fulfillment of human needs
• Easily printed source of advertising
• Sustainable materials could help fulfill the basic human need
• Dishwashing labor and costs avoided
of subsistence by better protecting environmental resources
• Eliminating disposable cups, may result in people spending
more time inside the shop socializing and satisfying needs for
Likely market response
participation, affection, and identity
to sustainability challenge
• Drinking more coffee and other warm drinks at home with
• Manufacturers may substitute renewable or recycled
family could replace some solitary drinking (such as on work
materials for fossil based plastics in lid and lining
commute)
• Different material may be substituted for paper as
forestry land shrinks
• Disposable cups may become easily recyclable or
compostable, or may be replaced with reusable cups
2
Manufacturing
(Gosport, England)
• Non-renewable electricity used to run
equipment and for general operations at
factory (SP 1)
• Sodium hydroxide & sodium sulfide used
to process wood pulp; chlorine dioxide
used for bleach (SP 2)
• Solvent-based inks produce VOCs (SP 2)
• Nutrients leached from wastewater into
local water bodies (SP 3)
• Hydropower supplies some power for the
factory; dams alter nature and can cause
soil erosion and species loss (SP 3)
3
Packaging & distribution
(UK & Sweden)
• Fossil fuels used in transportation (SP 1)
• Cups wrapped in petroleum-based plastic (SP 1)
• Warehouses may be built on land that was
previously natural habitat (SP 3)
• Positive: Cardboard boxes used recycled paper
(SP 3)
GÄVLE
23
00
k
m
KALMAR
1
Resource extraction
GOSPORT
Recommended improvements to current lifecycle
An alternate lid could be made flat
without an opening for drinking, to use
30% less plastic.
• Replace fuels in transportation with
biofuels
• Use new transportation alternatives,
such as ships with solar paneled-sails
• Use all renewable energy sources in
production
Biologically based plastic or
recycled plastic to remove
use of fossil fuels and to allow
composting
• Replace the 10% of
uncertified wood with FSCcertified fiber
• Leave paper unbleached
• Replace tree pulp with hemp
Alternatives to disposable paper cups
• Ceramic cups
• Stainless steel travel mugs
• Reusable cups made from alternative
material
• Bio-foam cups
• Replace regular coffee with espresso
bar or caffeine pills
Our recommendation for BTH is that the
cafeteria purchase the compostable cups
currently available from the manufacturer,
and additionally increase its collection of
secondhand ceramic cups.
Cuponomics: a collection of facts
35,875
cups are used at BTH in a year. (24 cups/person/yr)
Starbucks reported 2.3 billion cups used at their stores in 2006.
• For those, 136,789 tons wood consumed; 944,211 trees cut down
• 569 million gallons water waste, 36 million lbs solid waste created
Americans consume more than 16 billion paper cups every year.
• For those, 951,579 tons wood consumed; 6,568,421 trees cut down
• 4 billion gallons water waste, 253 million lbs solid waste created
(Västervik, Sweden)
• Fossil fuels used to transport
garbage to incinerator (SP 1)
• Emissions from incinerating plastic
and dyes (SP 2)
• Ash from incineration is placed in
landfills (SP 3)
Sustainability barriers presented by current stakeholder preferences
• 90% of the virgin wood fiber is
certified by FSC or PEFC (SP 3)
• Fossil fuels used in transportation
and forestry equipment (SP 1)
Average
KARLSKRONA
5
Disposal
Extended enterprise
(undetermined location)
• Petroleum extracted for cup lid
and lining (SP 1)
• Fossil fuels used in mining
equipment and transportation
(SP 1)
• Mining process degrades
physical landscape (SP 3)
(Karlskrona, Sweden)
• No major violations
VÄSTERVIK
UK Average electricity sources
4
Use
How many uses of a reusable cup
equals the environmental impact of
one disposable cup?
Disposable cup
Reusable
cup
Ceramic
Plastic
Glass
Paper
39
17
15
Foam
1006
450
393
Suppliers
• Non-renewable raw materials often less expensive than more environmentally benign alternatives
Government Policy Makers
• Health and safety regulations can prevent certain classes of drinking cups from being made of recycled material
Investors
• Pressure to prioritize strong quarterly growth over more long-term investments
• Sustainability initiatives and investments can be seen as risky
Workers
• New materials and modes of production may require workers to learn new skills or be retrained. • Improvements could lead to redundancies, or need for more personnel
Consumers (coffee drinkers)
• The convenience being able to walk around with drinks and dispose of them easily.
• Expect cup with drink
Distributers
• Lightweight material and stackability transportation easier
• Want lowest prices
Competitors
• Other companies may produce as cheaply as possible
• Greenwashing can undermine genuine efforts
Media
• Superficial understanding and communicating of sustainability issues sometimes render greenwashing as effective for
public relations as genuine sustainability strategies
Is the manufacturer trying, through external communication and actions, to change these
preferences and conditions? If so, how?
• Annual sustainability report released as a move towards greater transparency and education of the environmental
issues related to its products
• BioWare line of compostable products from bioplastics, renewable, and recycled material.
• Agreement with Rainforest Rescue to donate 1% of sales on selected items to the Daintree Buyback and Protect
Forever Project.
• Recent contributions to the “Clean Baltic Sea” project
• 90% of virgin fiber material procured through FSC and PEFC
Future preferences and conditions of societal stakeholders favourable to the introduction of
more sustainable product/service concepts
Suppliers
• Increased costs for nonrenewable and overharvested raw materials like wood and oils. • Increasing transportation costs leading to pressure to source locally • Suppliers who have already been in better compliance with sustainability principles will be the most reliable
Government Policy Makers
• Increasingly strict environmental regulations and penalties for irresponsible business practices
Investors
• Increasingly seek sustainable investments as rising costs manifest
Consumers (coffee drinkers)
• May demand more sustainable alternatives to single use cups made of non-renewable resources
Customers (vendors)
• May face pressure to phase out cups, or use more sustainable alternatives
Competitors
• Those who have already been effectively working towards sustainability will see expense benefits, while those who have
not will experience cost penalties
Media
• Single use paper cups are an easy target • Independent internet media raises the quality of awareness around sustainability issues
• Greenwashing will become less effective as general understanding grows
Future strategic product/service value-chain cooperation that would be favourable to the
development of more responsible handling of sustainability problems througout the lifecycle?
Suppliers
• Communicate that Huhtamaki is prioritizing sustainability and will be expect greater accountability of it’s partner
companies
• Request sustainability report from suppliers
• Request certification when applicable
Government Policy Makers
• Lobby for stricter environmental legislation – as an international company, Huhtamaki might be able to influence less
developed countries where industry is fairly unregulated
Customers and Distributers
• Stimulate purchase of improved cups by lowering prices
Consumers
• Stimulate consumers to demand environmentally benign options through marketing and education campaign
Increase Transparency
• Release a more comprehensive and quantitative Sustainability Report
• Advertise Bioware line more effectively
Questions? Contact us.
Adele Peters ([email protected])
Daniel Gunnarsson ([email protected])
Hye-Jeong Kang ([email protected])
Tyler Seed ([email protected])