Mobile app tracks Costa Rican coffee’s carbon footprint

This case study describes NAMA Café de Costa Rica, an initiative that utilizes a mobile app and a Measuring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system to track and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Costa Rican coffee sector.

• The NAMA Café de Costa Rica initiative aims to lower greenhouse gas emissions from coffee growers and processors through several activities, including reducing fertiliser use, improving water and energy efficiency in processing, promoting eco-friendly agroforestry financial mechanisms, conducting emissions audits at mills, and increasing the productivity of coffee plants older than 20 years.
• A national CR-CAFÉ app and MRV system, launched in 2016 and based on ISO 14064, WRI standards, and the SINAMECC M&E reporting system, allows farmers to input data such as fertiliser use. Because the average age of farmers is 60-70 years, coffee mills assist them with profile creation and app usage, while also entering production and yield data.
• Data analyzed by the National Coffee Institute (ICAFE) has corrected the estimated impact of coffee on national emissions; while previously estimated at 8%, real data shows coffee is responsible for only 1% of national emissions. The primary emission sources identified are fossil fuel use, waste water, coffee pulp, agroforestry systems, and fertiliser use.
• The initiative has trained 500 technicians and 6,000 farmers in calculating carbon intensity. Additionally, 61 mills, which process more than 50% of the coffee in Costa Rica, have calculated their emissions and are implementing mitigation strategies.
• The CR-CAFÉ app is currently in a pilot phase with 100 users and plans to expand to 1,000. As the first agricultural NAMA globally, the project has established a data collection standard applicable to other agricultural products.

APA

May, P. (n.d.). Mobile app tracks Costa Rican coffee’s carbon footprint. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/story/feature-mobile-app-helps-costa-rica-track-coffees-carbon-footprint

Chicago

May, Paul. Mobile app tracks Costa Rican coffee’s carbon footprint. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, n.d. https://cdkn.org/story/feature-mobile-app-helps-costa-rica-track-coffees-carbon-footprint.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=May |first1=Paul |title=Mobile app tracks Costa Rican coffee’s carbon footprint |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |url=https://cdkn.org/story/feature-mobile-app-helps-costa-rica-track-coffees-carbon-footprint |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mayndmobile, author = {May, Paul}, title = {{Mobile app tracks Costa Rican coffee’s carbon footprint}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, url = {https://cdkn.org/story/feature-mobile-app-helps-costa-rica-track-coffees-carbon-footprint}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }