Menus at Benugo cafés, restaurants and grab-and-go sites will now come with details of the carbon footprint for each drink. 

Measured in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e), the footprints offer customers information and may sway some to swap for a lower impact drink.

Hot chocolate has the highest emissions – 0.89kgCO2e for a large and 0.77kgCO2e for a regular. Lattes (0.63kgCO2e for a regular) and cappuccinos (0.44kgCO2e) come next followed by flat whites (0.41kgCO2e). However, if whole milk is swapped for skimmed, the footprints fall slightly. 

There are also footprints for different dairy alternatives, which have fewer emissions than milk. For example, the 0.41kgCO2e footprint for a flat white with regular milk shrinks to 0.2kgCO2e if soy milk is used, and even further to 0.18kgCO2e when oat or almond milks are used. A single espresso has the fewest emissions (0.1kgCO2e).

“Benugo have recognised that the most impactful way to reduce their carbon footprint is by influencing and educating consumers to choose low carbon products, and they’ve produced a menu which will give this impactful ‘nudge’ right as consumers make their buying decision,” said Chris Pocock, sustainability consultant at ClimatePartner.

ClimatePartner carried out the ‘cradle-to-grace’ calculations to produce each footprint. This covered everything from raw materials and milks to grinding and the takeaway cup.

Benugo’s drinks are also carbon neutral, with the company having offset the emissions through “verified carbon avoidance, reduction and removal projects”. Efforts have already been made to decarbonise the supply chain – and this will continue. Carbon neutrality using offsets is “not the complete answer but is a critical and important step in our wider sustainability journey, and we will continue to challenge and progress what we do”, said Benugo commercial director Shane Kavanagh.