How I flipped my perception of coffee capsules

Coffee drinking is an important part of our daily lives and the way we prefer consuming it is very personal. When I started working at Nespresso back in 2007, one of the first questions I asked was about the sustainability of our capsules. I wanted to know how drinking coffee from individual capsules could be more sustainable than some alternatives, such as bean-to-cup machines. If I’m honest, I wasn’t sure it could be.

Responsible for Nespresso’s sustainability programs, I decided to dig into the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of our capsules with industry experts to better understand their environmental impact. I wanted to know what we could do to improve as I fully expected the results to show the capsule was a problem. However, I had a real “aha” moment as I discovered the hidden environmental impacts that products can have. Hidden impacts we too often forget but make a very real difference.

This revelation changed my perception of smart and efficient consumption. Portioned coffee has had some bad press in the past, with some claiming we are creating more waste than necessary with our capsule system. While I respect different views and encourage debate on this topic, I do not think it is so clear cut. There are several reasons why these kinds of criticisms do not apply to our portioned coffee system, and why it is actually a sustainable way of drinking coffee. Allow me to explain.

Precision consumption as waste prevention

The impact of preparing and drinking a cup of coffee goes far beyond what’s in your cup or what you put in the bin. Each step in the process, from growing the bean, to preparation, transportation, packaging and serving, is a step with an environmental impact. The green coffee supply stage is the second biggest impact driver after the home consumption stage (such as heating of the water). Consequently, making sure to not waste any drop of coffee is important.

Portioned coffee enables “precision consumption”, which means that you only use the precise amount of coffee and hot water you need for one cup. The Nespresso system actually saves resources that might be lost in other brewing methods. This is why our capsule is important. As much of coffee’s environmental footprint is linked to growing the green coffee itself, making sure none is wasted is critical. Who doesn’t remember preparing a pot of filter coffee and throwing part of it down the sink? Or having friends leaving a coffee pot on a stove for hours?

So, while it might sound counter-intuitive, our coffee has a carbon footprint similar to filter or moka, and even lower than a cup brewed using a bean-to-cup machine.

Our LCA findings are consistent on this point (Wired has written a great overview of coffee LCAs). The reality is that capsules prevent waste. And this is especially true for Nespresso capsules because of the materials we use to make them. 

But it is true that we must recycle and reuse the capsule material to truly leverage the circular potential of the aluminium.

Building a circular business

As you most likely know, aluminium is infinitely recyclable. Therefore, for me, the power of re-using and recycling of this material is incredible. It is quite impressive that when using recycled aluminium, as we do in our new capsules using 80% recycled aluminium, the total energy use is reduced by a considerable 95%. Even the coffee ground is re-used for compost or biogas! This means that we can enable a fully circular management of the coffee capsule.

With the Nespresso system you only use what you need and then you recycle what you don’t need, the capsule. Of course, this model only works if our capsules are recycled back into the system and therefore, we need your support. Already now over 90% of our customers have access to a convenient recycling solution, so we count on you!

Sustainable and smart consumption is increasingly important as we all consider the impact of the products we buy and use. For me this plays an essential role in my selection of what coffee to drink, similar to many of you. It’s what’s driving me to push our company forward so we can give customers the most sustainable cup of coffee available. So, whilst we have made great steps forward to minimize waste through our precise system, and our customers have played a big part in this by recycling their capsules, there will always be more we can do. We will continue to do our part, improving the circularity of our business and products and making sure you have easy access to recycling facilities.

I respect different views and I welcome the debate to continue this important conversation.