Coffee Value Chain Carries Heavy Carbon Footprint, New Research Finds

Research from Terrascope and Olam Food Ingredients reveals that 75 to 91 percent of coffee's carbon footprint is generated before beans leave the farm. Climate change threatens to shrink suitable coffee-growing land by up to 97 percent in key regions by 2050, raising urgency for industry decarbonisation.

A joint study by sustainability platform Terrascope and agri-food company Olam Food Ingredients has mapped the emissions hotspots across the global coffee value chain. A single 12-ounce black coffee generates approximately 0.258 kg of CO2 equivalent, while a latte reaches 0.844 kg CO2e due to dairy's carbon intensity. Key farm-level emission drivers include land-use change and deforestation, excess nitrogen fertiliser use — nitrous oxide is 273 times more potent than CO2 — and methane-emitting wet milling processes used to process Arabica beans.

The research identifies practical decarbonisation levers that could reduce per-cup emissions by as much as 45 percent. Precision agriculture techniques that optimise fertiliser application can cut emissions by up to 10 percent, while switching to renewable energy in roasting and retail operations offers further reductions. Plant-based milk alternatives such as oat and soy also significantly lower a beverage's carbon footprint compared to dairy. For a commodity traded globally and consumed daily by millions, these aggregate reductions carry substantial climate relevance.

Implementation remains a challenge, particularly for smallholder farmers who grow the majority of the world's coffee. The report calls for access to climate finance, supply chain incentives and regulatory support to help farmers and businesses transition to lower-carbon practices. Embedding sustainability criteria into long-term commercial contracts is identified as a key mechanism for driving change. Consumer choices — including selecting sustainably sourced coffee — are also cited as a lever, alongside collaboration between farmers, companies and governments.

Key figure — 45% potential reduction in per-cup emissions through identified decarbonisation levers