Words by Smiley Team
Turn alarm off, roll out of bed, get a coffee: that's how the vast majority of us start our day. Caffeine gets us going in the morning, there’s no doubt about it.
But how bad is our coffee habit for the planet? And are there any businesses out there hoping to help reduce its environmental impact – or give back to others in the process?
There sure are.
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Have you come across a Change Please coffee before? If you live in London, keep an eye out. Change Please is a social enterprise, where every cup you buy helps change someone’s life for the better. 100% of their projects go into giving people experiencing homelessness, a living wage job, housing, training, onwards opportunities — and a fresh shot at a life.
They have a Speciality Coffee Association accredited training centre, where a Change Please trainee’s journey will start. “We cover every aspect of coffee making, from green beans and roasting through to latte art and customer service” they say. “Our aim is to equip our trainees with the skills and experience they need to start a new career and have a secure place to live.” Find out more and support.
Every minute, 29,000 plastic and aluminium coffee pods go to landfill. If you have a Nespresso machine and use pods every day, you could be adding a lot more single-use plastic to your waste bin each week. Try searching for coffees in compostable pods, instead. These can be added to your food waste collection bin and means they will be processed into compost or liquid fertilizer.
Try Grind’s compostable pods, a roastery based in London. Or, for a more affordable option, Must has a good selection.
Girls Who Grind is an all female specialty coffee roastery based in the wild South-West of England, who source their coffees specifically and exclusively from women producers, seeking out those coffees that are creating positive change.
“Coffee is big business, worth billions, but not enough of the profits stay in producing countries and especially not in the pockets of women, they say. “We want to disrupt this by creating positive change in the value system through sharing the end profits.”
Not only is their coffee delicious, they also have an initiative called Cheek to Cheek, where 10% of the sale price of their retail bags of roasted coffees directly back into the pockets of the women they buy from. To date, they’ve given more than £10,000 back to these women. Find out more and support.
Happy Bones Coffee is situated directly opposite University College Hospital London and they want to be able to raise money for others – through their “social space with a social conscience.” The social coffee bar is a small enterprise with a sole mission of giving back to our NHS workers.
“Simply put the more money we raise the more we can give back to a workforce that has given so much in unprecedented times,” they say. They donate 10 coffees for every £1 they raise. Support their fundraising campaign.
If, without fail, you enjoy a delicious warm mug of coffee every morning, why not try a subscription that gives back to people and the planet? Batch coffee is a good place to start. The company uses coffee grown all over the world and ensures all the farmers are paid above fair trade, with many of the importers dealing directly with the coffee farmers themselves.
Founder Tom Saxon tells us: “Batch uses coffee that has been roasted by independent coffee roasters in the UK that vary in size from small startups that roast on a 2 kilo roaster through to more established coffee roasters that have been perfecting their trade for years. We support local and promote independent brands throughout the UK and encourage our customers to find their local roaster.”
The brand is also plastic-free. Their bags are recyclable and made using paper from sustainable forests with a next-generation lining. Their boxes are fully recyclable while our packing tissue is also fully recyclable. Find out more and support.
