You might've noticed on our jars a little number on the side, it's our best attempt to quantify how much carbon dioxide the production of that jar creates. It's not a perfect science, but we want to give transparency to you, the consumer. 

What does it actually mean?

CO2e is the carbon emissions equivalent of all greenhouse gasses emitted during the production of something, in our case it’s nut butter. All the emissions are converted to carbon dioxide for an easier measure, but also includes harmful gasses like methane.

It’s expressed as a per kg measurement. The way we print it on our jars means that it is x kg CO2e per jar, meaning every jar produces xkg of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Why do we do it?

To be frank, it’s not enough to just say you’re sustainable - it doesn’t mean anything without transparency and action. We’re sick and tired of companies greenwashing their products. Yes, we emit during the production process, and we’re fundamentally transparent in that and have been since day one.

We’re also seemingly the only regularly available nut butter company to do so. When the rest catch up, it will give you, the consumer, the ability to compare emissions like you’d compare nutritional information. Till then, we’ll continue to be transparent and they can continue to say they’re sustainable, without really proving it.

How do we calculate it?

Right off the bat we need to say this isn’t a perfect equation. It doesn’t take into account transportation to the end user, power use in our office, or the end-of-life process after the jar is finished. The equation exists to evolve and is updated annually.

Currently, we use an online calculator to work it out. Again, it’s not perfect, but it’s the cheapest option available right now. Bare in mind, we’re a small business and we’re still doing what we can. What’s up with the big businesses? 

Future plans

Like we said, it’s an evolving equation. The more information we can get about our raw materials, their transportation, their creation, everything, the more accurate this can become. Ultimately, this means the better informed the consumer can be.

We also want to start to offset our emissions, with the goal of becoming wholly carbon negative - meaning through our business actions we reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. 

We’d also like to see the other big boys and girls get on board. We love having a point of difference, but we love transparency and accountability more. Our businesses exist in a society dammit! Not in isolation!