Riff Energy+ is Certified Carbon Neutral!

We’ve officially reached one of our major milestones here at Riff, and we couldn’t be more excited to share the news that, drumroll please…

Energy+ has been Certified Carbon Neutral by Carbonfund.org Carbonfree®
Product Certification Program! That means we’re officially the nation’s first certified carbon neutral energy drink.

Carbonfund.org is leading the fight against climate change, making it easy for any individual, business or organization to reduce & offset their climate impact.

So it’s time to answer the big question – what does it mean to be certified carbon neutral?

What Does Carbon Neutral Mean?

Well, the short answer is pretty simple: it means that all of the emissions created during the life cycle of Energy+ have been completely offset. Cool right?
 
But if you’re keen to know more about how upcycling something as deliciously small as cascara can completely offset all emissions from Energy+, then read on, my friends!

What Happens When Cascara is Wasted?

It’s a little known fact that 70 billion (yup, we said BILLION) pounds of cascara is wasted each and every year.

When all that nutrient-rich cascara goes to waste, it typically ends up decomposing away in landfills *shudders*. If it’s not sent to the landfill, there’s a high chance of it ending up in our waterways, or decomposing in a back corner of a farmer’s field.

Whatever location it ends up in, it usually wreaks havoc on the environment, because that decomposing cascara – all 70 billion pounds of it – leads to harmful methane emissions being pumped into our atmosphere.

While that sounds pretty frightening, there are endless climate solutions to get excited about – one of those being upcycling! You know—turning old blue jeans into insulation for houses, or old tires into roof shingles, or taking plastic bottle and making them into furniture and shoes, etc. So how can upcycling a fruit like cascara lead to carbon neutrality?

 

 

How Upcycling Can Lead to Carbon Neutrality

By upcycling cascara soon after it is picked from a tree, it helps keep it out of the landfill and avoid all those harmful emissions - about 66 grams of avoided CO2-eq (carbon dioxide equivalent) per can.

 

That 66 grams per can means the emissions generated by all Energy+ ingredients during transportation and production, plus all emissions created during the manufacturing process are completely offset by the upcycled cascara fruit.

But it doesn’t stop there. Upcycling cascara has a ripple effect on the coffee industry as a whole. It helps support local farmers by providing them with an extra source of income, and it paves the way for others in the coffee industry to engage in environmentally friendly practices.
 
That means by supporting products (like Energy+) that are certified carbon neutral, it encourages industry-wide change towards a more sustainable future.

If you want to support other carbon neutral products but you’re not sure where to start, check out Carbonfund.org's Partner Directory and be sure to keep an eye out for carbon neutral badges and logos on the products you buy.