The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) hosts a webinar discussing the latest SCA Research report, released in collaboration with Whittier College, titled “Carbon and Coffee: GHG Emission Reductions Progress and Strategies Across the Value Chain.”

Updated December 13: Added video recording of December 8th webinar

The ongoing threat of climate change, and the impact it is expected to have on coffee yields worldwide, is of particular concern to the global coffee sector in 2022. Earlier this year, the team at Whittier College partnered with the SCA to publish a new research report; "Carbon and Coffee: GHG Emission Reductions Progress and Strategies Across the Value Chain," available in English and Español. This report aims to highlight some of the key tools, strategies, and best practices that coffee industry actors could adopt to achieve carbon emission reduction, as well as encourage more targeted conversation about verifiable methods and outcomes, in order to increase proven and positive action on climate change throughout the entire coffee sector.

Join research leads Nora Burkey, Founder and Executive Director of The Chain Collaborative, and Dr. Cinzia Fissore, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of the Environmental Science Program at Whittier College, for a webinar discussing the meaningful findings in the report and how to apply this research to improve carbon reduction in the coffee industry. Nora and Cinzia will also be joined by representatives of producers mentioned in the report: Pedro Manga, Sustainability Coordinator for Caravela Coffee; Melissa Wilson Becerril, Impact Manager at Cooperative Coffees; and Stephanie Alcala of RGC Coffees. The webinar will be moderated by the SCA’s Sustainability Director, Andrés Montenegro.

Find this report and others freely available at sca.coffee/research.

SCA Research Webinar | Carbon and Coffee: GHG Emission Reductions Progress and Strategies Across the Value Chain

Recorded Live December 8, 2022
9am PST / 5pm GMT

In this webinar you will learn:

The motivation behind this research
The biggest takeaways from the report
Surprising research findings
Best practices that coffee industry actors could adopt to achieve carbon emission reduction

Meet the Panelists:

Stephanie Alcala | RGC Coffee

Stephanie Alcala is a trader and sustainability liaison for RGC Coffee, a family-owned, sustainability-focused, green coffee importer. She holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Michigan in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and maintains her involvement in academia by serving as a part-time adjunct Professor at Whittier College in the Environmental Science department. Her work at RGC Coffee and Whittier College enables her to pursue her passion for community and economic development in agriculture. In her free time, Stephanie enjoys biking, spending time with her family and friends, eating, and being in green, mountainous spaces.

Melissa Wilson Becerril | Cooperative Coffees

Melissa Wilson Becerril is the Impact Manager at Cooperative Coffees, a green coffee importing cooperative formed by 23 roaster-members in Canada and the US. Melissa leads the work of measuring the carbon footprint and compensating farmers for their environmental services. Unlike traditional carbon markets, this initiative recognizes the value of organic farmers’ existing climate-friendly work. Previously, she managed coffee supply chains and public-private partnerships for impact at Fair Trade USA for ten years, where she learned from the elite of the global organized farmer movement - the organic coffee farmers who created the concept of fair trade. Melissa is a promoter of cooperatives, supporter of responsible business, and champion for smallholder farmers. She believes economic justice is the basis of true environmental sustainability, and can be found spreading this message anywhere from industry events to university classrooms.

Nora Burkey | The Chain Collaborative

Nora founded The Chain Collaborative in 2014 to invest in local leaders as they develop and implement community projects in coffee regions around the world. She holds a master’s degree in Sustainable Development from the Graduate Institute at School for International Training, where she focused her studies on gender in development and food systems. She is part of the Creator’s Group for the Coffee Sustainability Program of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), and is currently an Authorized SCA Trainer for the program. Under the banner of TCC and in collaboration with other industry colleagues, she consults on a number of projects, has written for several coffee magazines and blogs, and has taught at a variety of educational institutions. She speaks English and Spanish.

Cinzia Fissore, Ph.D. | Whittier College

Dr. Fissore is an Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at Whittier College. Dr. Fissore has over 15 years of research experience in the field of soil science and biogeochemistry across ecosystems, from forest to urban ecosystems to agricultural systems, which have led to several peer reviewed publications and other relevant reports and documents. Dr. Fissore’s research investigates soil organic carbon cycling and stabilization associated with different environmental conditions and in response to climate change and anthropogenic impact. Her most recent research efforts have been focused on coffee farming systems, especially in novel productions located in Southern California, with the goal to investigate the effectiveness of coffee farming in stabilizing soil carbon and mitigating climate change.

Pedro Manga | Caravela Coffee

Pedro is a Colombian Biologist and Chemical Engineer, with a M.Sc degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Vienna, in Austria. As sustainability coordinator for Caravela Coffee, Pedro works on developing alliances, both within the organization and with other stakeholders of the coffee industry, to strengthen data management processes and design initiatives that better visualize environmental, social, and governance gaps at coffee producing communities in Latin-America and promote collaborative actions to close them.

Andrés Montenegro | Specialty Coffee Association

Andrés Montenegro is the Sustainability Director at the Specialty Coffee Association. He graduated as an Agroindustrial Engineer and holds a M.Sc. in Process Design and Management with a major in food-bioprocesses. With over 15 years of experience navigating the coffee industry, he has focused his professional activity in the intersection between private companies, civil society, and governmental organizations for joint creation of innovations with shared purpose. As a coffee lover, and self-described coffee geek, he is passionate about finding ways to make coffee better, acknowledging the handprints and footprints required to keep the coffee ritual thriving in tandem with society and environment.

Read the full Carbon and Coffee Report here.

Webinar: Discussing the Carbon and Coffee Report