Waiākea is committed to transforming the beverage and greater CPG industry by way of a technology-forward approach that sets the highest standard possible when it comes to carbon emission reductions. We realize that these industries are only growing larger, their products multiplying, and in order to create positive, real and systemic change, it has to come from the inside-out.

Hawaiians take immense pride in their unique and ancestral bond with nature. In fact, Hawaiians call themselves keiki o ka 'āina, or “children of the land.” The notion and practice of mālama i ka 'āina, meaning “to respect and care for the land,” is one of the most important pillars of Hawaiian culture and is at the core of Waiākea as a company.



FROM SOURCE TO SIP, WAIĀKEA IS CERTIFIED CARBONNEUTRAL, MEANING NET-ZERO CARBON EMISSIONS.

Here’s How

CARBON EMISSIONS RATING

Since its inception, Waiākea has worked diligently with Natural Capital Partners and RSK, two of the world’s leading emissions consultants, to first measure and then reduce both the direct and indirect environmental impact of both its business, and its product, to net zero.

INTERNAL EMISSION
REDUCTION INITIATIVES

Reducing carbon emissions is one of our top priorities as a company. It's an essential part of our quest to preserve our communities and the `āina. Prior to offsetting any carbon emissions, Waiākea applies new technologies to its supply chain in order to reduce total emissions below the industry standard. Here is what some of those key initiatives look like and their respective impact on energy used and CO2e produced.

SUSTAINABLY SOURCED USING RENEWABLE ENERGY

With a daily sustainable yield of 393 million gallons per day, Waiākea’s source - the Kea’au aquifer - could provide enough water in a month to satisfy the amount of water that is consumed globally in a year.

WAIĀKEA BOTTLES LESS THAN .003% OF THIS.

Waiākea uses 33% RENEWABLE ENERGY, 25% of which is GEOTHERMAL, for all of its sourcing operations.

SOURCE TO WAREHOUSE

Waiākea reduces waste in its supply chain through smart shipping. By implementing a sophisticated scheduling technology, we’re able to bundle loads with other manufactures, reducing empty miles traveled by our logistics fleet from the industry standard of 35% to a very low 19%.

THIS YIELDS A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION OF 45% IN CO2E EMISSIONS.

If the whole industry reached this level of efficiency, it would reduce CO2e emissions by 34 million metric tons. To put that into perspective, a 34 million metric ton reduction is about the same as:
- Taking 7.2 million passenger vehicles off the roads for a year
- Planting 559 million tree seedlings that grow for 10 years
- 1.5 billion trash bags recycled instead of landfilled

WAREHOUSE TO YOUR DOOR

Once Waiākea leaves our warehouse and ships to your home, we ensure to offset 100% of carbon emissions related to delivery. How does it work? For every ton of CO2e produced in transportation, an equivalent amount of CO2e is saved by a verified emission reduction project. See some of them under “External Emission Reduction Offset Projects.”

After analysis is done of the significant environmental initiatives already in place for Waiākea, all the emissions relating to the company and the production of Waiākea are quantified and then further reduced to net zero through key environmental reforms.

FORESTRY

Yurok Tribe Forestry
Location: California
CO2 Emissions Offset: 217 (tCO2e)

The Yurok Tribe Improved Forest Management Project was launched by the largest American Indian tribe in California. Almost 29,730 acres of forestland are preserved in their home of Humboldt County, California. This project strengthens efforts to protect and safeguard the Tribe’s cultural and natural heritage of living in unison with nature.

No commercial harvesting is planned in the project area. Management of the property is designed to improve cultural and ecological value. In an effort to repatriate historical lands and to protect fisheries and natural resources within tribal lands and the state of California, the Yurok Tribe partnered with Western Rivers Conservancy to acquire several tracts of land from Green Diamond Resource Company. The Tribe uses proceeds from the sale of carbon credits to maintain their land and to purchase additional tracts of ancestral land surrounding their reservation in Northern CA.

In addition, the project supports restoration of wildlife and watershed health, and creates jobs within the Tribe’s departments of Forestry, Watershed, Fisheries and Culture.
 

RESOURCE RECOVERY

Seneca Meadows Landfill Gas
Location: New York
CO2 Emissions Offset: 193 (tCO2e)

This award winning project not only captures methane from landfill gas (LFG) emitted by the 178 acre expansion to the Seneca Meadows landfill site, but has also created almost 420 acres of new wetlands, established an environmental education centre, and generates electricity from the LFG to power 18,000 homes. The project demonstrates that it is possible to make significant reductions in the greenhouse gas impact of landfill projects, while showcasing how carbon finance can be used to extend environmental stewardship.

In addition to delivering emissions reductions, the project delivers a number of other benefits including:

Life on Land: The Wetlands Reserve side project includes enhancing nearly 160 acres of existing wooded wetlands, and creating almost 420 acres of new wetlands. The Wetland Reserve is home to 220 validated species of birds, including a number of endangered and New York State threatened birds. Additionally, the project site consists of storm water management activities, such as the creation of storm water retention ponds and surface runoff channels to prevent erosion.

Affordable and Clean Energy: The primary activity of the project is in creating an expansion of a landfill gas and collection system that collects LFG and destroys it in engines to produce electricity, increasing the share of sustainable energy resources. Combustion of LFG controlled by the project destroys the methane in the LFG, resulting in a reduction of net CO2e emissions.

It’s our mission to provide healthy, sustainable, and ethical water for our ohana. People, Planet and Profits is at the center of everything we do. We strive to limit our footprint on the supply chain level first, and then offset the rest so our products are always 100% carbon neutral.

OUR FIVE 5-YEAR GOALS

1. 100% Electric Fleet For All Transportation and Logistics
2. 100% Solar and Wind Energy for All Sourcing and Manufacturing Operations
3. 100% Plastic Negative
4. Build Hawai'i's first RPET recycling and process facility
5. Provide an end-of-life solution for our bottles with no environmental biomagnification factor