Sustainability is at the core of the company’s philosophy. From its origins as a Quaker-owned company, it has always endeavored to do business fairly. It sources all its produce ethically and has direct partnerships with coffee growers in Nicaragua, Honduras, Brazil and Colombia. But its initial view of sustainability has since been broadened to address ecological issues, mainly the impact of its operations on the environment, as well as including initiatives strengthening involvement in the local community.
Today, it holds many accreditations in relation to its sustainability performance. The company has been implementing an ISO14001-based environmental management system since 2004. It attained ISO140064-1 attestation of CO2 emissions and was the first
…show more content…
In the first year, Bewley’s reduced its footprint by 15% through energy saving measures managing their coffee roasting equipment. The following year the company cut its footprint by another 20%, in what Corbett says was “simple housekeeping”, through even better energy management and technology. Today, Bewley’s continues to measure how much carbon the company is producing and every year purchases carbon offsets from certified carbon-reducing initiatives. In 2011, Bewley’s identified coffee growers selling carbon offsets and they decided to go direct to the source. Bewley’s linked up with the Cepicafe cooperative in Peru, who were planting trees around their coffee farms as part of a reforestation project. The trees were removing carbon dioxide from the air while also protecting the coffee crop growing further down the mountainside from soil erosion and landslides. “The beautiful thing about all this is that now we’re also buying their coffee,” says Corbett, “…so we’re sending them money for their offsets and sending them money for their coffee. The farm has two income streams and Bewley’s can rely on a quality coffee supply. It’s a very repeatable model that