LEPAERA, Honduras – INLOHER is a coffee exporter that has been dedicated to the production, processing and marketing of high-quality coffee beans; always ensuring to offer sustainability, traceability and quality to the international market. It recently became the first Carbon Neutral company in Honduras, complying with all the internationally established standards to counteract climate change.
The new generation that assumes the leadership role of INLOHER, does so with a vision with a clear focus, a business that allows them to reach many producers and, in addition, to generate well-being in all the families with whom they work, new development alternatives for the region through projects, alliances and, above all, fair prices for the Honduran coffee producer.
Their main headquarters are in Lepaera, Lempira, and they also have offices in Santa Rosa de Copán. They work with more than 4,000 producers in the departments of Copán, Lempira, Santa Bárbara and Intibucá.
Its three lines of work are Traceability, Quality and Sustainability, the latter is key, it is not possible to continue working with coffee without the pillar of sustainability.
INLOHER has had several certifications for some years, in which they undoubtedly comply with these three fundamental axes. Among these certifications is Rainforest Alliance, Organic, and they are about to be certified in 4C, Bird Friendly, FairTrade, Woman’s Seal, among others.
The dream of being certified in Carbon Neutrality began in 2015 with the establishment of a forest plantation in which they have 4 forest species with high potential for carbon fixation.
In 2018 they began with the establishment of plots for measurement and quantification of the compensation potential that they had in the plantation, they continue the measurement work until 2021, within the plant an arduous work was also carried out, the measurement and quantification of the Gases of Greenhouse effect. Effect that they emitted into the atmosphere, added to a reduction plan that will demonstrate efficiencies in numbers, that is, in tons of CO2 that has decreased throughout its plant.
INLOHER measured the amount in tons of greenhouse gases that it has released into the atmosphere during the entire coffee process; Second, it carried out reduction actions through an efficiency project to control the operation of the plant to demonstrate the amount of tons of pollution that the product of these actions has reduced, and finally the compensation through forest plantations.
The purpose of carbon neutrality is to quantify the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions of the entire benefit based on the INTE ISO 14064-1: 2006 standard and the INTE B5: 2016 national standard.
Within the process, the reductions were quantified and the compensations were quantified to achieve being Carbon Neutral.
The organization’s commitment is to carry out these activities annually, considering that each year its work must be more efficient and cleaner, in order to guarantee a slight impact on the environment.
They have been working on this project for 6 years, in terms of costs from the establishment of the plantation, maintenance, establishment of plots for measurements to date, quantification of Greenhouse Gases, implementation of efficiencies in all processes, which has demanded a high investment.
All, considering the mandatory requirements dictated by the reference standards, and going through a rigorous verification process by an accredited verification body, as well as the execution of periodic controls of documents and records.
Entity that certified INLOHER
The company CTG – Certificaciones Técnicas Globales Ltda., Is a Verifying Body for Greenhouse Gases and Carbon Neutrality that is accredited in Costa Rica by the Costa Rican Accreditation Entity.
CTG carried out the entire verification process, granting it a certificate that certifies its commitment to climate change through the quantification of Emissions, Reduction and compensation, complying with the Carbon Neutrality equation.
All the staff of CTG – Certificaciones Técnicas Globales Ltda., Has more than ten years of experience in carrying out GHG inventories, management systems, verification processes and technical aspects related to the annual removal of carbon dioxide (CO2equivalent) from the atmosphere as a result of activities related to the forestry sector.
CTG Endorsed by: Costa Rican Accreditation Body ECA
https://www.eca.or.cr/entidades-acreditadas/organismos-v-v-de-gei
