Going Green With Your Coffee Program - Part 1

As a coffee house owner or coffee retailer, there are many decisions that one can make to offer sustainable coffees, environmentally friendly products and to create a culture within your business that is socially responsible. I have seen an exponential growth in customer education and social awareness in the past few years and am excited to see coffee houses and coffee roasters/green coffee buyers focusing not only on quality but also developing direct relationships with coffee farmers etc.

What I wanted to open up for discussion is a resource for coffee retailers who may already be offering some "green" choices, as well as those who can learn from others, the simple practices that can greatly effect our customers buying practices. For many of us the first step is establishing a relationship with a coffee roaster, or roasting our own coffee, so that the coffee we serve and purchase is ethical and sustainable. There are obviously MANY great articles out there talking about this revolution so I wanted to expand upon this and brainstorm ideas that retailers can practice or offer that go past just the coffee we serve.

So. What are some of you doing out there to lead by example with your retail operations?

I have seen coffee retailers switching to 100% biodegradable cups, composting used coffee grounds, donating to charities like Coffee Kids or Bikes to Rwanda and a lot more.

There are many ways a coffee retailer can conserve energy as well, with choosing everything from lighting, delivery options, water usage, recycling, etc. I also know there are coffee roasters out there who are experimenting with alternative energy use, and recycling the energy from their roasters to power their facility, etc. Also, many wholesale roasters are using hybrid or bio diesel vehicles.

Choosing locally produced goods is also a smart option for various reasons. Think of what companies you are investing in when you sell coffee, bottled drinks, baked goods, teas, and all the other myriad items that we use and offer in our shops.

The coffee industry is so large that all of these decisions that we make can have a substantial global effects not only on the environment, but also the world economy.

Let hear your ideas and examples!

- Matt

Tags: barista, coffee, eco, espresso, friendly, going, green, local, retail

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Comment by Michael L. Atkinson on August 19, 2008 at 5:04pm: Thanks Matt! Just do something consistently. Remember W. Edwards Deming, "incremental Progress wins". Initiating a recycling program is a simple way to get people in the habit.

Comment by Susan Perry on August 19, 2008 at 1:23pm: Wonderful blogg. And I agree with Mike. We are thinking about green everyday and are no where near perfection. I am always happy to hear what other businesses are doing. It gives me the next simple thing to think about implementing. Our product is green but it took me over a year to even think about that aspect because it is a mindset. I do find that once you start doing little "green" things it snowballs and we start thinking about other things that we do. Thank you Matt for the inspiration.

Comment by Mike Love on August 19, 2008 at 6:21am: One of the things Coffee Labs hears is people feel over-whelmed be being green and they won't do it right. We do many green things such as power. paper products, low flush toilets, green light bulbs, composting ,etc. We started small. We just did paper products first and slowly added over time. That is the easiest way to do it. We talked to other companies and asked what they did. And kept trying to improve. We think of being green as journey. You can never be perfect and you can always improve. We tell people not to try to be perfect, it is to much pressure. Do one thing at time. It will get easier. Share what you have done with others. It helps people and other companies to go green. Every little bit helps. I know that corny but true.