I learned more about a mandatory carbon offset that I had to pay to go to a Specialty Coffee Conference. Last May was the first conference I had attended, and was coincidentally the first SCAA Conference to require a carbon offset. I blogged in May about going to the event and need to follow up a little with comments on the carbon offset.  I am now part of the SCAA Sustainability Committee, the very folk who encouraged the monetary contribution.

So, here is the skinny on the offset: An organization, Trees for the Future, plants trees at about 10 for $1 in various locations around the world. A consulting group had determined that $7 would buy enough trees to offset the average travel distance for people to get to the conference site. So, give $7 to the conference and they in turn donate the money to plant 70 trees. Subsequently, the carbon burnt through the combustion of jet fuel will become absorbed into leaves and woody matter of the trees over the life of those trees. There was some unknown as to whether any of the foam core signage, preparatory travel, climate control at the conference center, etc was also included in these 70 trees.

Many people at last year’s conference were confused about the $7 mandatory offset, many others accepted it without a blink. The link with Trees for the Future was not widely publisized, nor the quantity of carbon that each person generated in traveling to the conference. With some different communication efforts, complaints may be alleviated.

Still, there is question in the scientific community as to the carbon-offsetting impact that planting trees has, namely whether it truly sequesters carbon back into the soil by converting the carbon into the appropriate ion. We at the Roastery are looking at terrestrial carbon sequestration and partnering with Holistic Management International for us to become “carbon neutral”. There is still some science to be uncovered with the use of herding animals to sequester carbon into the soil, and how much is sequestered at what rate. However, the decision-making framework, which we incorporate into our business, and the worldwide results of emulating herding behavior through sound management is more appealing to us as a business than other offset mechanisms.

One thing was clear in my first meeting with this volunteer group of coffee industry professionals on the Sustainability Committee – they are passionate about steering the coffee industry to significantly contributing to the United Nations Millenium Development Goals. I think we will take some great strides pushing this bohemouth along, and am encouraged with the Committee’s fervency. At least for now, I am happy to give $7 for planting trees wherever that may be.