HOW ONE COMPANY IS REVOLUTIONISING THE RE-USEABLE DRINKWARE MARKET?
NO COMPROMISE COFFEE, LESS OF THE LANDFILL GUILT...
We are all looking for ways to reduce our Carbon Footprint, from reducing the plastic in our homes to switching to a green energy tariff. Every day we are making choices that put the planet first.
All of these small choices and changes in our day to day lives make a huge impact on the planet and with Fellow taking a lead on the reusable drinkware market we can finally tackle the carbon in our morning coffee cup.
Everyone knows the damage single-use cups and straws do to the planet and yet avoiding the use of these cups, has up until now, been a massive inconvenience.
The most biodegradable single-use cups on offer are terrible insulators, the plastic ones you can buy don’t last a mile in your car’s cup holder (saving the planet is one thing but not at the cost of burning your thighs on the way to work!) and the rest are overly complicated, 12,000 piece contraptions that are trying too hard to “reinvent the wheel” all of which, are making your coffee taste (and smell) a little, strange (that plastic-like taste you get, just me?).
Environmentally conscious choices, like any lifestyle change, have to be simple and easy to stick to or they won’t last, much like an overly restrictive diet, if the changes been asked are too frustrating, the trade-off can seem too challenging.
So, a simple but functional, easy to use reusable cup that doesn’t ruin our coffee experience could go a long way to making carrying one a habit, easier.
Same great coffee, less of the post caffeine guilt about another reusable cup ending up on landfill.
Introducing the Fellow Carter Move Mug, a reusable cup that was designed with the above issues in mind, ensuring no comprises have to be made with your coffee by a team that isn’t content to put a ‘green’ label on it and call it a day but one that wanted to know exactly how much better for the planet it is.
WALKING THE WALK: HOW TO COMMUNICATE YOUR SUSTAINABILITY
So the stage has been set, the modern western adult has an opportunity to massively shrink their carbon footprint all they need is a high quality, practical re-useable mug, which we now have!
But how much better for the environment is it exactly?
This Case Study outlines not just why The Carter Move Mug is better for the environment but quantifies it, in measured Carbon Equalivance.
Green-Washing is rife in the Coffee market so Fellow, with the help of Tunley Engineering, wanted to ensure that their claims, should they make them, were undisputable, ethical and provided real value to their customers.
A small San-Fransico based Drinkware/Coffee Company went from passionate environmentally conscious individuals to professionally auditing their products and having quantifiable data they can use for marketing purposes, informing supply chain-related decisions and business strategy.
FROM PASSION TO ACTION: HOW FELLOW ACHEIVED THEIR GOALS
There is no set template on Climate Action. Every company is different, the challenges unique, the solutions bespoke.
Fellow’s work on sustainability began a year ago with the formation of the sustainability steering group, or ‘Green Team’. Most companies don’t have the time or resources to justify hiring an internal Sustainability Lead so this team like so many others is made up of people taking on additional responsibilities to their main duties.
From supporting community projects to driving more eco-conscious actions in the workplace this Green Team have being Paramount increasing Fellow’s first steps towards decarbonisation.
So, how do you take passion and turn it into business-minded action?
Fellow’s first step was to get an Embodied Carbon Assessment on one of their flagship products, the Carter Move Mug.
An Embodied Carbon Assessment provides a carbon audit for a product by quantifying the total greenhouse gases emitted in its production.
Embodied carbon is reported in terms of kg of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) of a product before it hits the market or becomes operational.
Unlike an organisation’s carbon footprint, embodied carbon is fixed and cannot be altered once the product is made. It is therefore essential to have your product, building plan, or design assessed before you begin to build it whenever possible.
For example, building materials can emit huge amounts of carbon long before the lights go on, but thoughtful upfront design can reduce global warming impact.
FROM PASSION TO ACTION: HOW coffee helped the environment
Working with Dr Torill Bigg and Aaron Yeardley from Tunley Engineering’s Carbon Reduction Team, Sophie Frank, Data Analytics Manager who is also a member of Fellow’s ‘Green Team’ spearheaded the liaison with their international manufacturing partners to collect the needed data.
Despite two teams across two timezones and working with international manufacturers this project of work only took 8 weeks.
So what did The Embodied Carbon Assessment show?
Let’s say you buy one coffee a day for a month and instead of using a disposable you used your Carter Move Mug, by the 27th day you would have already offset the carbon used to make your Carter Move Mug in the first place,
Every coffee you have after that is a net positive for the environment. You would be saving the planet one coffee at a time. Furthermore, every month after that you save the planet a further 1.7 kg of CO2 each month you use the Carter Move Mug, which is 18 kg over a year, this is equal to 3 new trees!
THE CARTER MOVE MUG
We never understood why to-go tumblers made design decisions that compromised the coffee drinking experience. The senses–taste, smell, and touch–were ignored, while durability and extreme heat retention were prioritized. Why not both?
Meet Carter Move Mug, a travel mug finally worthy of the coffee inside. Designed to amplify the senses and engineered to fit your travel needs with a snap-in splash guard and slim width, you can now enjoy coffee at its fullest on- the-go.
Introducing three new hues that look good in the glow of a TV screen: Buttered Popcorn, Mint Chip, and Boxed Wine.
HOW ONE COMPANY IS REVOLUTIONISING THE RE-USEABLE DRINKWARE MARKET?
Our embodied carbon assessment service provides a carbon assessment for a product by quantifying the total greenhouse gases emitted in its production.
Embodied carbon is reported in terms of kg of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) of a product before it hits the market or becomes operational.
Unlike an organisation’s carbon footprint, embodied carbon is fixed and cannot be altered once the product is made. It is therefore essential to have your product, building plan, or design assessed before you begin to build it whenever possible.
For example, building materials can emit huge amounts of carbon long before the lights go on, but thoughtful upfront design can reduce global warming impact.
Embodied Carbon is not yet as highly regulated or measured as Business Carbon. However, year on year the interest from the international community and awareness and demand from consumers for lower carbon options has increased, and will only continue to do so.
At a global level, buildings account.
These emissions will continue to rise under a business-as-usual scenario.
The embodied carbon impacts and the impacts of other built asset types are not currently accounted for, which makes the impact of the whole built environment even greater. To play its part in limiting global temperature increase to 2°C.
32% of energy use and 30% of energy-based GHG emissions.
The built environment sector must reduce its emissions by a total of 84 GtCO2 by 2050.
An Embodied Carbon Assessment, conducted by a team of Carbon Reduction Engineers, gives your business the added reassurance your audit has been conducted by in-industry experts who know what they are looking for and, by extension, provide realistic guidance on how your product, whatever that may be, can more sustainable, cheaper to produce in some cases, and have a stronger brand.