{"id":13811,"date":"2019-08-30T08:45:42","date_gmt":"2019-08-30T07:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitedbaristas.com\/?p=13811"},"modified":"2022-01-31T10:21:15","modified_gmt":"2022-01-31T10:21:15","slug":"united-baristas-has-offset-the-carbon-emissions-from-the-use-of-its-services-by-planting-trees-in-the-coffee-producing-counties-of-kenya-and-brazil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedbaristas.com\/news\/united-baristas-has-offset-the-carbon-emissions-from-the-use-of-its-services-by-planting-trees-in-the-coffee-producing-counties-of-kenya-and-brazil\/","title":{"rendered":"United Baristas has offset the carbon emissions from the use of its services by planting trees in the coffee producing counties of Kenya and Brazil"},"content":{"rendered":"
Internet usage is now a leading contributor to global warming, accounting for more than two percent of global carbon emissions (Nature, 2018) \u2013 a higher level than the aviation industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Digital services such as websites and apps are run on servers, which require significant amounts of energy for their fast computation, as well as vast cooling infrastructure to manage the heat produced from their operation. Electricity is also required to transmit data from servers to our computers, phones and tablets, and electricity is also required to run these devices. A study by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) found that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
United Baristas services have grown rapidly in use, and we estimate that over the past year the usage has contributed approximately six tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A central rationale for starting United Baristas was to enable the full and productive working life of coffee equipment through better selection, maintenance, and the opportunity for baristas to buy and sell used equipment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s been difficult to estimate the reduction in carbon emissions and general environmental benefit United Baristas services presently achieve as we lack specific information on the embodied energy in espresso machines and other key items of key coffee making equipment; but with hundreds of machines changing hands and more equipment being better maintained, we would like to think that the environmental benefits from United Baristas services more than mitigate the impacts from its use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the interim we\u2019ve taken the step to offset the carbon emissions from the use of our services by contributing to tree planting and protection projects in the coffee producing countries of Kenya and Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n