Efico goes green with €20.3m Zeebrugge coffee processing facility

12th May 2008

Antwerp-based importer and merchant Efico is to invest €20.3m in the first phase of a green coffee processing, storage and distribution facility in the port of Zeebrugge, as well as another €15m building windmills to offset its carbon footprint, the company reported in early May.

SCAE Pioneer Member Efico said that the ambitious project was aimed at sharing sustainable added value to its coffee, and it would be considering incentives for farmers, initially in Guatemala and Colombia, to sell carbon emission rights for its Rainforest Alliance-certified coffees. These funds would enable the growers to maintain their forests and conserve their natural resources, Efico said.

The Zeebrugge facility, to be constructed on a 10-hectare parcel of land in the port area, will include a temperature- and humidity-controlled warehouse capable of storing 363,000 bags, incorporating green coffee handling and processing equipment. The entire structure is to be roofed with solar panels, capable of generating about 900,000 kilowatt-hours (kwh) of energy annually, with the aim of making its operation carbon-neutral, according to the company.

The initial phase of the development should be complete during the third quarter of 2009, Efico said, although further plans call for much more warehousing to be created on the site, with a final capacity of just under 1m bags.

Efico's coffee ready for shipment from Guatemala (photo by Eduardo Quintero) 

Efico intends as well to build at least five windmills, preferably in the port area, capable of generating another 30m kwh of green energy annually, as a means of compensating for the carbon emissions through its supply chain, the company explained.

Efico also announced that its logistical operations would be regrouped into a group to be known as Seabridge Logistics, under which the new business unit Seabridge Eco-power will be responsible for its green energy activities.