Small Coffee Producers in Honduras Reduce their Carbon Footprint - CASE STUDY
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Small Coffee Producers
in Honduras Reduce
their Carbon Footprint
CASE STUDY
Case Study General Information Case Name: Small Coffee Producers in Honduras Reduce their Carbon Footprint Authors: Svetlana Samayoa and Evelyn Hernández Project Advisors: Svetlana Samayoa, Rubén Gallozzi, Osmer Ponce, and Carlos Bueso Start and end date of the agreement: October 2010 - March 2012 Sponsor: AECID Executor: SNV Local partners: The Associative Enterprise ARUCO and the Ecological Coffee Cooperative, La Labor, Ocotepeque, Ltd. (COCAFELOL) Country: Honduras Sector: Agriculture The content of this document is the responsibility of SNV and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the AECID.
Context
The coffee sector in Honduras is
one of the most important for job
creation (approximately 1 million
jobs along the production chain)
and foreign exchange generation.
95% of the production is done by
small producers (with up to 2.4 Among these alternatives is the processing plants.” With the
hectares), in the period 2005- use of waste generated in the financial support from the
2010, the country was the second production and processing of Spanish Agency for International
largest coffee producer in Central coffee, to develop systems that Development Cooperation
America; and in 2011, the largest use biomass (pulp and coffee (AECID), SNV provided advisory
exporter in the region. effluent) to generate renewable services to the associative
energy (bio-gas and bio-ethanol) enterprise ARUCO and The
Given the importance and size of Ecological Coffee Cooperative,
and bio-fertilizers that can be
the coffee industry in Honduras, La Labor, Ocotepeque, Ltd.
used in coffee production and the
it is deemed necessary to improve (COCAFELOL).
surplus used by the community or
environmental performance
marketed.
during the wet processing This project is based on the
and energy efficiency during To promote a more sustainable design and implementation of
dry milling, reducing water and environmentally responsible production plants for bio-ethanol,
consumption and implementing coffee production, for a period of bio-gas and bio-fertilizers, using
alternative waste treatment for 18 months (from October 2010 to locally adapted technology,
its use as a source of renewable March 2012), SNV implemented which brings many environmental
energy. the project “Sustainable benefits (such as reduction of
development, energy efficiency odors, diseases, pollution of soil
and competitiveness through the and surface and underground
production of bio-ethanol, bio- water) and social benefits for the
gas and bio-fertilizers from waste communities surrounding the
generated by coffee cooperative project that use water sources.
1
It also impacts the economy
through income generation
Also, the carbon footprint
was calculated (GHG emissions Customers an
from the sale of bio-ethanol and by coffee at every stage of
bio-fertilizers and cost reduction production), in order to design
derived from the replacement of a Green Plan which sets out
ARUCO and COCAFELOL,
fossil fuel use. actions to reduce GHG emissions,
located in western Honduras,
so that through future actions,
To ensure the sustainability showed great interest
COCAFELOL and ARUCO could
of this initiative, the project in improving the current
achieve Carbon Neutral
also explored the possibility of management of pulp and
Certification and thereby obtain
incorporating the proposed bio- waste water from coffee
a better price in the sale of their
gas generation activity into the processing, since these
coffee.
Voluntary Carbon Market. can potentially threaten
The generation of bio-gas human and animal health
reduces the direct emission to the and harm the environment
atmosphere of methane gas; and through discharging their
its use to produce electricity and wastes into soil and water
/ or heat promotes the reduction bodies. Therefore, the local
of fossil fuels consumption for partners were constituted
electricity generation. to implement the project
The purpose of the carbon “Sustainable development,
market is to sell carbon credits1 energy efficiency and
(Certified Emission Reductions), competitiveness through the
which represent the reduction production of bio-ethanol,
of emissions of Greenhouse bio-gas and bio-fertilizers
Gases (GHGs), in this case from waste generated by
methane, by replacing fossil fuels coffee cooperative processing
with bio-gas. plants.”
uu ARUCO is a farmers’
association, founded in
2006, located in Corquín,
Copán, with 116 small
coffee producers, who have
1 Each carbon credit is equivalent to
1 ton of CO2.
2
nd partners
554 hectares under coffee Its mission is to ensure uu AECID financially supports
production. The coffee is fair sustainable human the project, specifically
trade certified and organic. development and poverty those activities related to
ARUCO has its own facilities reduction for its members the carbon market and the
with the processing capacity in the region of western determination of the carbon
of 45,000 hundredweight Honduras, through economic footprint, as its 2009-2012
of dried parchment coffee and social development of country strategy, identifies
a season. It was estimated the farmers and their families. as a priority the confronting
that the 2010-2011 harvest Currently, the cooperative of global challenges such as
could produce 12,666 has 164 members divided climate change. The AECID
hundredweight of dry into 7 communities in the coffee program in Honduras
parchment coffee (Gonzales, department of Ocotepeque. focuses on certified organic
2011 and Alvarado, 2011). COCAFELOL has 305 coffee, promoting it in
producers who are customers international markets and in
uu COCAFELOL , founded in 1999,
of the cooperative processing the development of human
forms part of the social sector
plant which for the 2009- capital in coffee cooperatives.
of the economy, located
2010 harvest produced, This project complements
in La Labor, Ocotepeque,
35,850 hundredweight of the actions that address the
it serves growers in the
coffee with UTZ Certified, proper management of waste
region, supporting them
organic and environmental in the wet milling process and
in the production, milling,
seals (Alvarado, 2011). energy efficiency in the dry
marketing, credit and export
milling process and therefore
of high quality certified The partners of ARUCO adds value to the final
coffee produced sustainably. and COCAFELOL enjoy the
product.
It has an installed capacity of redistribution of profits. 389
40,000 hundredweight and families have benefited from
income generation from the
its farms are located between
sale of their coffee, and the
1100 to 1750 meters above provision of technical assistance
sea level. and capacity building.
3
Methods and Intervention logic
In order to identify the possibility uu Feasibility studies for the uu Estimation of GHG emissions
of generating additional income implementation of a small scale from Coffee processing from
for members of ARUCO and project in the Voluntary Carbon farm to sale (determination
COCAFELOL for GHG reduction Market under the framework of the carbon footprint).
and climate change mitigation, of the Gold Standard (GS) As an alternative or additional
SNV advised on two processes: for the generation and sale activity to project management
of carbon credits. According in the carbon market, SNV
to information previously measured the carbon footprint
submitted to the feasibility in order to establish a Green
study performed by SNV and Plan that enables businesses
subject to confirmation of to achieve Certified Carbon
aspects of environmental and Neutral status (i.e. achieving
financial additionality, the GHG balance derived from
bio-gas project and its use had coffee processing), which
the potential to be eligible in could be used to negotiate a
the Voluntary Carbon Market. better price for the sale of their
This is because it leads to coffee.
the reduction of methane
(Greenhouse Gas, GHG), the
absence of the proposed
activity would mean the
direct release of GHGs to the
atmosphere through the open
degradation of the pulp and
the wastewater, as well as by
the use of heat and electricity
based on consumption of fossil
Distillation tower at COCAFELOL. fuels.
bio-ethanol production plant.
4
The feasibility study of the
participation of the project The advice that SNV has provided uu Estimated equivalent tons
in the generation and use to ARUCO and COCAFELOL, of CO2, according to the
of bio-gas in the Voluntary between October 2010 and methodologies adopted
Carbon Market, and the March 2012 focused on: by the carbon market
determination of the carbon projects and the use of
footprint, focused on the uu Preparation and
biogas generation and
following recommendations: implementation of a
the methodologies of the
participatory methodology
uu Reduce the environmental Intergovernmental Panel on
(Public Consultation) to
impacts generated during Climate Change (IPCC) to
determine the acceptance of
the coffee production estimate carbon footprint.
the project in the surrounding
process. communities, as well as the uu Preparation of pre-feasibility
uu Reduce GHG emissions necessary measures for an documents for the project in
directly into the atmosphere economically, socially and the Voluntary Carbon Market:
through the generation and environmentally sustainable Feasibility study and Project
use of ethanol and bio-gas, project. Idea Note (PIN).
and production processing uu Preparation of a report on the uu Development of a Green Plan,
improvement. results of the implementation which sets out measures to
uu Manage the generation of participatory methodology be developed to reduce GHG
of additional revenues by (Public Consultation Report) emissions at different stages
reducing GHG emissions. of coffee processing.
uu Opening an account with the
Gold Standard and referral uu Training staff and partners
of the report to the Public of COCAFELOL and ARUCO on
Consultation. climate change and project
development in the Voluntary
uu Field survey information
Carbon Market.
(qualitative and quantitative)
for the estimation of GHG
reduction (carbon dioxide,
methane and nitrous oxide)
5
Results
With the implementation uu A feasibility study for the uu Measuring the carbon
of activities to achieve the development of a project in footprint that identified the
reduction of GHG emissions as the carbon market, which amount of Greenhouse Gas
part of the project “Sustainable states that the costs of the emissions from cultivation and
development, energy efficiency project cycle are very high processing of coffee, as well as
and competitiveness through the compared to potential revenue identifying the most relevant
production of bio-ethanol, bio- from selling carbon credits. emission sources (transport,
gas and bio-fertilizers from waste fertilizer and electricity)
uu Awareness of the positive
generated by coffee cooperative and the establishment of
environmental impact of
processing plants”, the following emissions mitigation measures,
economic and social activities
results have been achieved: summarized in a Green Plan.
aimed at reducing emissions,
uu Estimation of GHG emissions and the advantages of this uu Capacity building of
and tons of CO2e emitted into process in positioning these COCAFELOL and ARUCO on
the atmosphere were the result companies as environmentally climate change issues and
of inadequate management of responsible to potential buyers carbon market.
solid and liquid wastes, as well of coffee.
as the entire coffee production
process (76,855.47 tCO2e
per year for COCAFELOL
and 18,201.06 tCO2e per year
for ARUCO).
Reduction of water consumption in
the coffee wet milling process.
6
Impact
Implementation of the project
helped reduce 280 tons of CO2
equivalent per year through the
bio-gas plants, the reduction
of water consumption to 264
cubic meters (m3) per year during
coffee pulping and washing, and
proper handling of 575 metric
tons of pulp and 906 m3 of coffee
effluent, resulting from the wet
milling of coffee.
Increased awareness in
COCAFELOL and ARUCO about the Biodigester recently installed at
impact their production activity This project has attracted ARUCO.
has on the environment and the interest and commitment from
climate change, strengthened of trade associations, development
their commitment towards the agencies and coffee businesses
development and implementation in the area, recognizing the
of a Green Plan, that outlines the importance of reducing the
measures needed in the short, carbon footprint as much for
medium and long term to achieve market demand as well for
balance and get the Carbon environmental responsibility.
Neutral Certification
7
Lessons learnt
uu The knowledge of the subject uu The size of the biodigesters
of climate change and carbon (small) was one of the primary
projects is a key factor in the reasons for the limited
motivation of management participation of the project in
and technical personnel the carbon market, because
to cooperate in supplying they generate low volumes
the information required to of carbon reduction per year
estimate the potential market (85 tons of CO2 equivalent for
and the determination of the ARUCO and 195 tons of CO2
carbon footprint. equivalent for COCAFELOL).
This volume would mean
uu The exchange of knowledge
low incomes (using the price
and experience with uu For the participation of small-
estimated during development
companies that perform similar scale projects into the carbon
of the feasibility study, which
activities (e.g. COOPEDOTA market, it is needed to socialize
was affected by instability and
in Costa Rica), encouraged the initiative with several
uncertainty of the market)
ARUCO and COCAFELOL companies that implement
that fail to cover the costs
to undertake long-term similar technologies, so that
of a carbon cycle project,
commitments, outside the they can organize a program
concluding that even with
scope of this project, such as of activities together and
the facilities offered by the
the implementation of the benefit from cost reduction.
Gold Standard for small-scale
Green Plan to subsequently This requires long-term
projects and/or a Program of
obtain the Carbon Neutral coordination and more time
Activities, this does not make
Certification. and resources than available in
the project economically viable
this project component.
8Sustainability
From the environmental point of
view, the reduction of GHG emissions
to the atmosphere, resulting from
the generation and use of biogas,
and the future implementation of the
Green Plan, contributes in reducing
the negative environmental impact
of the coffee produced by ARUCO
and COCAFELOL, demonstrating its
commitment and social responsibility.
From the commercial standpoint,
there is a growing demand for
sustainable products, in this case,
coffee with measured carbon
footprint and certified as carbon
neutral.
Expanding and strengthening the
initiative could give added value
to the collective trademark HWC
(Western Honduran Coffee) as
the region where the project was
promoted is one of the biggest
producers of coffee in Honduras,
and, in turn, one of the poorest.
Bio-ethanol production plant
at ARUCO.
9Col. Florencia Norte, Blvd. Suyapa, Edificio Corporativo Solaire, segundo nivel, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Tel. (504) 2239-6938 / 2239-6448 Fax 2239-6921 e-mail: honduras@snvworld.org www.snvla.org / www.snvworld.org
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