Analysis

Current situation

Before diving into finding solutions, a better idea of the current situation of Nespresso is seeked. This gives a better idea of what is done well and what could be improved.

Nespresso is currently the biggest and the most well-known company in the market for easy-to-use and affordable coffee machines. Nespresso makes their capsules from aluminium foil, coated with a food grade layer that prevents the aluminium from contacting the coffee ground. The reason for using aluminium is it’s high efficiency in the conservation of food products and ‘’infinite recyclability’’.(1) However, in 2020, more than 56 billion aluminium coffee capsules were thrown into landfills. (2)

The company is committed to “The Positive Cup Strategy” they created in order to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2035. One of the goals to succeed, is to get the recycling rate of the capsules to at least 50% by 2025. However, Nespresso has revealed that achieving this rate is exceedingly demanding since recycling comes down to whether the customer knows of the possibility or is willing to recycle the used capsules. In 2020, an estimated 32% of the capsules were being recycled.(3) Recycling is not made really easy for customers as they have to either transport the used pods into a Nespresso boutique or order a recycling bag to send back the pods, emitting greenhouse gases by doing either one.

Apart from the recycling rate of capsules, Nespresso is innovative in the production and trading of their coffee. By focusing on the regeneration of coffee landscapes and making the processing of coffee as sustainable as possible, Nespresso is on their way to become a company that has net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

That is where the team comes into play, on the mission to create a more adaptable solution for achieving sustainability. From the current situation analysis it can be concluded that the bigger problem lies around the customers ignorance, laziness or insensitiveness to sustainability issues. A more comfortable solution shall be seeked, that most probably asks for a change in materials, maybe even mechanisms.