Our Food Carbon Footprint

Whether it is a morning latte or afternoon energy drink (or any food you may eat), emissions from consumption and disposal of food add to your carbon footprint (and to the overall emissions on our planet). In fact, that latte could contribute 340 grams of CO2-eq per serving when accounting for the frothed milk! If you forget your reusable cup at your favorite coffee shop, add on an additional 191 more grams of CO2-eq. But it’s not just coffee. A regular can of soda will generate 170 grams of CO2-eq. We aren’t asking you to stop drinking your favorite beverage but just to choose beverages with lower carbon footprints when you can. Energy+ is one healthier beverage option for the planet. 

Energy+ uses natural ingredients, which already have a lower carbon footprint than processed ingredients in other energy drinks. By upcycling cascara, we can prevent emissions from poorly managed coffee waste. The greenhouse gas emissions from one can of Energy+ are only 100 grams - 40% less than your average can of soda. As part of our commitment to creating a delicious product and a healthy planet, we partner with Grow Ahead to fully offset the emissions from Energy+ by replanting trees at coffee farms. Grow Ahead connects organizations directly to small-scale farmers to support them as they address the challenge of climate change in their communities.

At Riff, we know our packaging adds to the carbon footprint of our products. We are working on ways to increase the amount of recycled materials in our packaging. Ultimately, we would love to make 100% of our packaging reusable, recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable.

Want to learn more about your food carbon footprint? The BBC’s food calculator can help. This simple tool provides the carbon footprint of different foods, (and the amount of water used in their production), making it easier for you to make climate-friendly food choices.

Grab a Riff and find out where we get our data in our science-based research study on cascara.