Barco Verde Coffee Company - Dell Social Innovation Competition

Barco Verde is a company that provides carbon neutral shipping services connecting coffee producers with consumers in North America. It contributes to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and builds social capital among producers and consumers. Barco Verde demonstrates the profitability of carbon-neutral, socially conscious shipping systems using existing technology.


Barco Verde's shipping mechanism uses open-ocean sailing vessels to cut carbon emissions and vertically integrate it's commodity chain. Overall, the shipping industry emits approximately 1.12 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year more than Mexico and the United Kingdom combined. Sailing vessels are entirely carbon neutral, representing an alternative to existing high-impact options such as air transport and containerized shipping. Even motorized cargo ships, often touted as a highly efficient transportation system, emit up to 40 grams of carbon dioxide per tonne of cargo per kilometer in addition to a toxic mixture of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide. Moving fully loaded containers from Central America to the northeastern United States can result in emissions of more than twenty times their volume in carbon dioxide. It is carbon emissions such as these that are leading to climate change that threatens the future of the planet.


Barco Verde is able to establish personal relationships with coffee producers and coffee consumers by using its own vessels. Ships and their crews are a tangible, personal link between coffee farmers and American coffee connoisseurs. On the production end, this serves to build the social capital of farmers, both within their communities and in connection with North America. Sustainable business internships with Barco Verde facilitate the empowerment of members of these coffee producing communities. With respect to consumption, Barco Verde gives ethical coffee drinkers a meaningful, personal connection with the people and places that produce their coffee. It also provides an opportunity for small coffee companies to market a unique product, supporting small businesses and increasing participation in sustainability efforts.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• sailing
• coffe
• carbon
• neutral
• bacro
• verde
• coffee
• company
• barco
• sustainability
• sustainable
• shipping