FAQs

WHAT'S SUSTAINABLE COFFEE?

Put simply, there are three P’s in sustainable coffee – people, planet and profit. All of which need to be addressed ethically in order to maintain an ethical coffee supply without the depletion of natal resources. 
Sustainable coffee is an accountability of economic, social and environmental factors from source to sip, in pursuit of a cup of coffee which can be maintained for future generations. 

WHY DOES SUSTAINABLE COFFEE MATTER?

Sustainability is THE pressing issue in our industry. The problem is rife across the whole hospo industry! With over 250,000 tonnes of waste from cafes/restaurants ending up in landfills every year. We all need to pick up our game y'all. The stat that really gets me is 60-80% of that could be diverted to compost 😰 Some environmentalists are predicting coffee could be exist by 2050  ♻️

SO IT'S IMPORTANT, SO HOW ARE YOU SUSTAINABLE?

We channel sustainability from start to finish. We only buy green coffee that are Ethically sourced. It is certified by the importers as Rain Forrest Alliance or Fair Trade Organic or we use artisan importers who specialise in ethical sourcing. It's important our coffee farmers are fairly paid AND they use sustainable farming practices.

We pack using compostable packaging or for our wholesale customer, reusable food-grade drums. We stamp our packs with re-used non-toxic ink and it's sent by carbon neutral courier, Sendle. For our wholesale family, we pick up your used coffee grind and compost it! End of life is HUGE for your environmental impact! More on ALL of this to come 😉

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR YOUR BAGS AND MAILERS TO BREAK DOWN?

Our bag and mailers are certified home compostable and the valve is industrial compostable. In a ‘standard’ home compost, the pouches have been certified to disintegrate after 12 weeks and completely biodegrade within 180 days, i.e. approximately 6 months. Under commercial composting conditions, it would happen much faster. And as litter (e.g. under a tree) it would compost slower, but it will still happen. We threw standard in commas there because It's situational. There are a lot of factors in composting (temperature, time of year, what's in your compost etc.) so it could be shorter or longer!

DOES COMMUNITY BEAN OFFER TO CAFES AND OTHER BUSINESS?

Yes, yes we do. You can find out more here. The best thing to do is get in touch and send us a note. We want to help you and your business be more sustainable and your coffee supplier is a great way to start.

HOW CAN COMMUNITY BEAN MAKE MY CAFE MORE SUSTAINABLE?

Having us on your side is a good start! We're happy to consult and analyse areas like your waste, suppliers and habits to see what you're doing and give you actionable steps to improve your business.