How Better Carbon Data Is Fuelling Hej Coffee’s Growth
By verifying the footprint of their Hermosa blend, Hej Coffee is helping key clients report Scope 3 emissions more accurately and improve supply chain visibility. At the same time, verified data is helping Hej stand out as a supplier of choice in commercial conversations.
Partnership highlights
For Hej Coffee:
- Verified carbon footprint → Hermosa coffee now verified¹ at 0.78 kg CO₂e/kg. For reference², the UK indicative average for roasted coffee beans on the Foodsteps platform is 15.33 kg CO₂e/kg.
- Credible product impact reporting without extra overhead → Hej Coffee can now share verified environmental impact data with key stakeholders without adding to internal resources.
For Hej Coffee clients:
- More accurate Scope 3 reporting → By conducting a supplier-specific life cycle assessment for their coffee, Hej Coffee has increased the amount of primary data in clients’ Scope 3 assessments and enabled the use of a lower, product-specific emissions factor — improving reporting accuracy.
- Better supply chain visibility → Clients now have greater visibility over their coffee supply chain emissions, helping identify hotspots and inform action.
“We want to be the facilitator of our clients’ ambitions — whether they’re sustainable or social. They’ve got good intentions, but they don't always have the vehicle to do it. By partnering with companies like Foodsteps, we can be that vehicle."
Mathew Keech, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Hej Coffee
The challenge: Limited in-house expertise, rising client demands
Hej Coffee has always been committed to doing the right thing — for people and the planet. But like many small, fast-moving teams, they lacked the in-house expertise to act confidently on their climate ambitions and communicate their efforts credibly.
“We were googling things like ‘equivalent of this many van journeys through London’ to try and make sustainability claims. It was naive. We had good intentions, but it wasn’t right.”
At the same time, commercial conversations were changing. Key customers made it clear that if Hej Coffee could assess their coffee’s impact and have that data to hand, they’d have a real shot at winning new business. However, Hej didn’t have the capacity for detailed environmental reporting.
“It’s really expensive and laborious. As a small company with fewer than 50 employees, we don’t have departments or the bandwidth to really look into this.”
Why Foodsteps: Credible data, externally vetted
Hej Coffee explored multiple sustainability partners — but struggled to find one they could fully trust. Many providers were self-certifying, relying on offsetting schemes that didn’t align with Hej’s values, or charging hidden fees for repeat certification.
“We didn’t find anyone in the market that we could trust and wanted to work with enough — so we just didn’t engage.”
By the time Mathew found Foodsteps, he had started working with an external sustainability expert to review methodologies and proposals.
“He looked over the methodology and said: ‘This is the one you want to go with.’... And we haven’t looked back.”
What we did: Life cycle assessments with GHG Protocol & ISO alignment
In September 2024, Foodsteps conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) for Hej Coffee, covering two products:
- 1kg of roasted Hermosa coffee beans
- A single brewed espresso made from Hermosa beans
The assessments followed the GHG Protocol Product Life Cycle Standard and aligned with ISO 14040 principles. Results:
- 0.784 kg CO₂e/kg for roasted beans (cradle-to-processing gate)
- 0.028 kg CO₂e/espresso (cradle-to-grave)
For reference², the UK indicative average for roasted coffee beans on the Foodsteps platform is:
- 15.33 kg CO₂e/kg (cradle-to-processing gate)
- 0.32 kg CO₂e/espresso (cradle-to-grave)
Key drivers behind Hermosa’s lower footprint include:
- No Land Use Change emissions in the assessment, as the farms supplying Hermosa beans are over 20 years old
- Renewable energy used at Hej’s roastery
- Circular packaging for local deliveries
“You can really stand behind the data. And what it enables you to do is be the champions of your sector. You can say to all of your sites and peers - here's what we're doing, and here are the facts to back it up.”
The value: Accurate data for clients, operational efficiency for Hej
By conducting a supplier-specific life cycle assessment for their coffee, Hej Coffee has increased the amount of primary data in clients’ Scope 3 assessments and enabled the use of a lower, product-specific emissions factor — improving reporting accuracy, supply chain visibility, and hotspot identification.
“What we’re giving our clients is stone-cold facts — and that’s coming off their Scope 3 reporting.”
Operationally, working with Foodsteps has unlocked capabilities that allow Hej to act like a much larger supplier:
“Foodsteps was such an amazing find for us — it gave us the ability to act like a big business in terms of reporting responsibly, without needing in-house experts.”
What’s next: Scaling assessments, going all-electric
Mathew is scaling assessments across the Hej coffee portfolio, aiming to verify 80% of products. He’s also invested in an all-electric roastery and is exploring the addition of solar panels and a wind turbine to help reduce operational emissions over time.
“Maybe someone will recognise the work we've done and say, ‘You guys were trailblazers'. But that’s not ultimately why we do it. We do it because we think it’s right, and we want to be part of the change.”
Learn more about Hej Coffee's climate ambitions here.
¹ Cradle-to-processing gate boundary
² While not directly comparable due to methodological differences, these figures offer helpful context for businesses reviewing their own emissions
