Is your tea “green”?
Traceability and sustainability are increasingly influencing consumer choices, especially younger consumers. Market reports suggest that consumers want to compare products based on social responsibility and environmental impact information, which means businesses need to know the “green” credentials of their products.
Regulators believe that eco-labeling will drive rapid improvements in food sustainability. The European Commission started to develop its Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology in the 2010s, which looks likely to form part of future legislation in the EU. However, due to the glacial pace of PEF development, and in the absence of a single harmonized scheme, large food businesses have already developed their own “in-house” sustainability labels that offer an environmental score on pack or on digital platforms, and more schemes are in development.
Uptake amongst retailers is gathering pace as they race to show who is the greenest, with pledges to tackle plastics pollution, food waste and carbon emissions. This lack of harmonization will increase consumer confusion and will ultimately drive-up costs for the food and drink industry.
What Does All of This Mean for the Tea Industry?
Companies need to be sure they can back up green claims with evidence. Omitting negative information, or “greenwashing,” will not be tolerated by regulators or consumers, so the tea industry needs a deeper understanding of the impacts of the supply chain, both its emissions and the carbon sequestration potential, from bush to cup. This requires a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of the entire supply chain – including production, processing, transportation, end-product use and waste disposal. LCA is still in its infancy and the development of tools – which have largely focussed on annual crops in the past – needs to catch up with growing consumer demand for sustainable product information for perennials like tea, coffee and cocoa.
There are also opportunities to promote work done so far, as we have witnessed a huge amount of investment and innovation by the industry in the development of sustainable packaging. The focus now should be to look at the entire supply chain and identify the other positive changes that can be made, especially as climate change is constantly creating new challenges for growers.
Personal Action Is Important for Wellbeing
Climate anxiety amongst young adults concerned about the environment was reported at the recent COP26 meeting in Glasgow, U.K., with research noting that many young people feel excluded from discussions about climate change, which can be disempowering and cause feelings of anxiety.
It is very easy to feel powerless when faced with the enormity of climate change but taking personal action – by making small positive changes in our daily routine – is thought to reduce stress and improve feelings of wellbeing, and these small changes can add up to a significant impact and real change.
With this in mind, the UK Tea & Infusions Association launched the Smart Boil campaign, to address the largest impact in the tea supply chain, which is boiling the water to prepare our tea (see Tea.co.uk to learn about the program). Most of us tend to boil at least double the amount of water we need, however by simply measuring the water using our cups, we can save time, money and energy.
For the U.K., where we drink over 100 million cups of tea a day, we calculated this could save 2,649,792 kWh of electricity per day, if all the energy we used was generated from renewable sources (see footnote). The equivalent of 1,553,156 miles in passenger car journeys a year!
What’s more, we know repeatedly re-boiling water drives out the oxygen and makes the tea taste dull, whereas using the right amount of freshly drawn water “energizes” the leaf and extracts all the character of the tea, delivering a great-tasting brew. This, plus the fact that tea is packed full of wellness benefits, means there are wins all round.
There is no doubt that reducing the global carbon footprint to reach Net Zero by 2050 will require action on all fronts, and this should be led by governments around the world. The real strength of the Smart Boil Campaign is that everyone can do their bit in helping to make tea greener, whilst enjoying their cuppa even more.
Editor’s Note: Be sure to download the new World Tea white paper, “2022 Tea Industry Trends, Issues & Innovation.” The white paper features the article you’re reading now, as well as others like it. To download the free paper, CLICK HERE.
Dr. Sharon Hall is the chief executive of the UK Tea & Infusions Association, an independent, non-profit making body that works in support of the industry and is dedicated to promoting tea and herbal infusions and their unique story to consumers, the media, and key stakeholders. To learn more, visit Tea.co.uk.
Footnote: GHG experts from Carbon Intelligence, a sustainability data and consulting firm, calculated the findings reported by the UK Tea & Infusions Association (October 2021) Carbon.ci
Plan to Attend or Participate in the
World Tea Conference + Expo, March 21-23, 2022
To learn about other key developments, trends, issues, hot topics and products within the global tea community, plan to attend the World Tea Conference + Expo, March 21-23, 2022. The event will be celebrating its 20th anniversary, in addition to being co-located with Bar & Restaurant Expo. Visit WorldTeaExpo.com.
To book your sponsorship or exhibit space at next year’s World Tea Conference + Expo, contact:
Veronica Gonnello
(for companies A to G)
e: [email protected]
p: 212-895-8244
Tim Schultz
(for companies H to Q)
e: [email protected]
p: (917) 258-8589
Fadi Alsayegh
(for companies R to Z)
e: [email protected]
p: 917-258-5174
Also, be sure to stay connected with the World Tea Conference + Expo on social media, for details and insights about the event. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.