Realizing that coconut waste being sent to landfills was the source of the significant amount of our emissions, we first vowed to use every part of the coconut. This includes all the coconut waste (i.e., anything that doesn’t end up becoming coconut water) from our processing plant and our coconut partners. Our team in Thailand has already successfully introduced this cover-crop planting to 208 farms since 2020 (and counting!).įollowing the actual farming process, we discovered that our second biggest emission source was coconut waste management. We also encouraged the farmers to plant cover crops to protect the soil and improve carbon sequestration (capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide) on their farms. Then, we waited…Īfter confirming the test results were heading in the right direction, we began spreading the knowledge we’d acquired to the coconut farmers in ReCAP and to our team of top crop scientists-urging on-farm compost making. These farmers used simple methods like windrow (an elongated mound made from compostable material) and aeration (creating small holes in the windrow to allow oxygen and water to permeate the compost pilecompost magic. To do this, we partnered with a local university in Thailand in 2020 to adapt and develop a new compost formula, then tested it with pilot farmers through ReCAP: the Regenerative Coconuts Agriculture Project. We started encouraging farmers to upcycle : turning their farm residue into compost. When farmers pile coconut leaves and damaged coconuts on the perimeter of their farms or discard them into the irrigation canals, these practices create GHG. We looked at activities in the farm that generate greenhouse gases and found that a big portion of on-farm GHG emissions come from farm residue management. Once we learned that coconut farming was the main source of our carbon emissions, we got to work. And we found it, in a way you might not expect… But we could not just ignore the data staring us right in the face! So rather than throw our hands up in defeat, we searched for an opportunity to improve.

Now, obviously this is a large and critical step in creating our delicious sips. The results? We found that the biggest carbon emissions source in our process comes from organic coconut farming. So now that we know what it is, what exactly is Harmless Harvest doing to help combat the greenhouse gas problem? In 2021, we started measuring how much GHG we created andmonitor our emissions each year, covering activities from our own operations to those of key suppliers and service providers in both Thailand and here in the US. This leads to floods, droughts, and all the other terrible things we mentioned above. When concentrated, they can thicken the Earth’s atmosphere, which traps heat and results in global warming. Otherwise known as greenhouse gases (GHG), is a group of gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. How are we doing it? Let’s explore some of the ways we make it happen: The Greenhouse Gas Problemīefore we jump in, let’s talk about a commonly used but rarely explained term: greenhouse gas emissions. We take our responsibility to reduce climate impact very seriously (always have, always will). In fact, our vision is to create a world where organic coconut farming has a net positive impact on both the climate and our communities. Here at Harmless Harvest, we are certainly no exception to this mindset. The silver lining is that climate change has now become an international agenda, and many countries and organizations are working towards limiting global warming. What do they all have in common? They’re all climate-related catastrophes, causing not only economic damage, but the displacement of families from their homes and even the loss of life… And they seem to be happening more and more often.īut we’re not here to send you into an anxiety spiral (deep breaths now!). If you watched the news at all last year, you probably caught some very heartbreaking headlines like Hurricane Ian in the US and Cuba, a record-breaking heatwave in Europe, flooding in Pakistan, and a major drought in China (just to name a few).

Harmless harvest coconut