SHOP TALK
When we started this company, we knew it would create a life-long project that was much bigger than coffee. Since 2000, our goal has been to be an environmentally sound company that roasts great coffee. Or a company that roasts great coffee and is environmentally sound. Either way, we all win and it looks like we are on the right track. Our eco-friendly roaster is just the tip of the green iceberg for DOMA. We are currently partnering with other local businesses and community groups on projects involving bicycle transportation, green building and community gardens.
COFFEE
DOMA purchases certified organic, fair-traded and direct relationship coffees. As a member of Cooperative Coffees, we've made a commitment to place the farmers, their identity, and their product front and center. We do not hide behind anecdotes of sourcing from secret, mystical mountains - we want you to know the people that grow our coffee and the cooperative organizations that they own and manage.
STUFF
Currently at DOMA all lighting is ultra-high-efficiency, print material is on recycled paper with vegetable-based inks and cleaning products are 100% toxin free. We'll continue to reduce, reuse and recycle in more efficient and effective ways. Other programs that we currently participate in include:
Avista Buck-a-Block Wind Program TerraPass Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Group Kootenai Environmental Alliance
Slow Food Donations of Coffee to Various Charitable Organizations Sponsorship of the Riverstone Womens Racing Team
and Vertical Earth Cycling Team the backyard harvest Community Roots
Carbon Footprint
Using a carbon footprint calculator from the Avista website, we found out how many metric tons of CO2 the roasting facility emits. We input the amount of energy we use in a year and then compared to the results to the estimation for “any other building that’s the same size” as Doma. Here are our results:
Doma:
Electric: 3 metric tons CO2
Natural Gas: 15 metric tons CO2
Total: 18 metric tons of CO2
Any other building of the same size’s Estimated Carbon Footprint:
229 metric tons of CO2
Total saved: 211 metric tons of CO2
Paper
By using 100% recycled paper, Doma is saving
- 31 trees a year
- 13 million BTUs of energy
- 14,217 gallons of water
- 1 pound of Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
- 2 pounds of hazardous air pollutants (HAP)
- 2 pounds of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
- 4 pounds of biochemical oxygen Demand (BOD)
- 9 pounds of Total Suspended Solids (TSS)
- 24 pounds of chemical oxygen demand (COD)
- 901 pounds of solid waste
- 3,152 pounds of CO2 equivalents/greenhouse gases (that’s less than the average car)
All Statistics are from the paper calculator 3.1
www.environmentalpaper.org
Explanation of Data:
Trees and wood use measures the amount of wood required to produce a given amount of paper.
The number of typical trees assumes a mix of hardwoods and softwoods 6-8" in diameter and 40' tall. Calculated collaboratively by Conservatree and Environmental Paper Network based on data from Tom Soder, Pulp & Paper Technology Program, University of Maine, as reported in Recycled Papers: The Essential Guide, by Claudia G. Thompson, The MIT Press, 1992.
Energy
The Paper Calculator includes an energy credit for energy that is created by burning paper – or the methane that decomposing paper creates – at the end of its life. The Net Energy takes the total amount of energy required to make the paper over its life cycle, and subtracts this energy credit. If most of the energy used to make the paper is purchased, then the energy credit might make the Net Energy lower than the Purchased Energy. The average U.S. household uses 91 million BTUs of energy in a year.
Wastewater measures the amount of process water that is treated and discharged to a mill's receiving waters. Wastewater volume indicates both the amount of fresh water needed in production and the potential impact of wastewater discharges on the receiving waters. 1 Olympic-sized swimming pool holds 660,430 gallons.
Nitrogen Oxides (NOx, which include NO and NO2) are products of the combustion of fuels that contain nitrogen. NOx contribute to acid rain and can react with volatile organic compounds and sunlight in the lower atmosphere to form ozone, a key component of urban smog. The average 18-wheel truck emits 261 pounds of NOx in a year.
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) measures the amount of oxygen that microorganisms consume to degrade the organic material in the wastewater. Discharging wastewater with high levels of BOD can result in oxygen depletion in the receiving waters, which can adversely affect fish and other organisms. Average home discharges 186 pounds of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) in a year.
Hazardous Air Pollutants are any of a group of 188 substances identified in the 1990 Clear Air Act amendments because of their toxicity.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are a broad class of organic gases, such as vapors from solvent and gasoline. VOCs react with nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the atmosphere to form ground-level ozone, the major component of smog and a severe lung irritant.
Total suspended solids (TSS) measure solid material suspended in mill effluent, which can adversely affect bottom-living organisms upon settling in receiving waters and can carry toxic heavy metals and organic compounds into the environment. The average home discharges 207 pounds of Total Suspended Solids (TSS) in a year.
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) measures the amount of oxidizable organic matter in the mill's effluent. Since wastewater treatment removes most of the organic material that would be degraded naturally in the receiving waters, the COD of the final effluent provides information about the quantity of more persistent substances discharged into the receiving water. The average home discharges 465 pounds of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) in a year.
Solid Waste includes sludge and other wastes generated during pulp and paper manufacturing, and used paper disposed of in landfills and incinerators. 1 fully-loaded garbage truck weighs an average of 28,000 pounds (based on a rear-loader residential garbage truck).
Greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2) from burning fossil fuels and methane from paper decomposing in landfills, contribute to climate change by trapping energy from the sun in the earth's atmosphere. The unit of measure is CO2 equivalents. The average car emits 11,013 pounds of CO2 in a year.
