A Sustainable Morning Brew? Don't Mind If We Do!

It’s cozy, luxurious, and basically your morning love language. But what if we told you that your daily dose of deliciousness comes with a little side of carbon emissions?

Nobody panic, this is not a guilt trip. We firmly believe in caffeinating, so we're here to make your morning ritual even better!

Let's break it down:

A standard 12 oz latte made with dairy milk creates around 0.5 to 0.6 kg of CO₂e emissions per cup. That’s mostly thanks to the milk, which has a surprisingly high carbon footprint because of the way it’s produced. Between the methane from cows, the feed, the water use, and the energy it takes to process and transport, dairy adds up fast. Here’s a breakdown from BBC’s Climate Change Food Calculator if you want to geek out on the numbers (or you can dig into the details on the dairy industry's carbon footprint here).

Now multiply that by 365 and you’re looking at over 200 kilograms of emissions a year, just from lattes.

But here’s the part that matters: it’s fixable.

Nobody is suggesting that you have to quit coffee (that would be insane). You don’t even have to quit dairy (though switching to oat milk or almond milk will cut your latte footprint way down). What you can do is make your daily habit part of a bigger solution.

One of our favorite ways to do this is by supporting roasters who are brewing up serious climate action, and our team in Calgary is lucky to be right down the road from a local coffee spot just like that!

Meet Canadian Heritage Roasting Company. They’re a small-batch coffee company based in Alberta that’s making a big impact for their community and the planet. With a background as wildland firefighters, their founders were inspired to turn their love of the outdoors and their love of coffee into a perfectly crafted "adventure fuel".

And they didn't stop there: For every bag of coffee sold, they plant a tree. So far? Over 183,000 trees planted and counting, with a goal of 1 million by 2030. They’re also the first and only Canadian roaster certified by Fish & Wildlife Volunteers, which means they give at least 1% of their revenue and 1% of their time to conservation work, including things like restoring endangered animal habitats and community clean-up initiatives.

It’s not just talk, it’s meaningful, tangible action. And that’s what we’re about too.

At Karbon-X, we make it easy to balance out the carbon from your everyday life, including your morning coffee habit. Whether you're offsetting emissions from your lattes, your commute, or your entire lifestyle, we’ve got your back with science-backed, high-impact projects that actually move the needle.

The part where a lot of people get tripped up is thinking that being climate-conscious means having to cut back on the things you love. Our goal is to help you figure out ways to make little adjustments and better choices that feel as easy and natural as placing your go-to coffee order.

So go ahead, take that sip! Drink it with joy! And know that you’ve got options to do your part for the planet, one cup at a time.

With a Karbon-X lifestyle subscription, you can offset your daily emissions (lattes included) by funding certified, science-backed climate projects around the world. It’s a simple way to take real action for the planet without changing your whole routine. Choose a plan that fits your lifestyle and start balancing your footprint today.

Explore Individual Plans →