A sustainable coffee buzz
Van Houtte Coffee Services partners with ME to WE coffee to bring Fairtrade certified brew to offices across Canada
Companies were once considered socially responsible if they wrote the occasional cheque for charity.
Now, savvy businesses cater to socially conscious consumers and address environmental challenges by examining whole operations. Everything is measured against sustainability efforts, right down to the coffee in the break room.
Chris McMahon, Vice President and General Manager of Van Houtte Coffee Services, has been in the office coffee business for 25 years. As a leader in office coffee services, Van Houtte is responsible for countless hours of caffeinated productivity. McMahon says that when he started in the business customers were looking for mediocre coffee at the best price. Now, employers want to serve their staff the good stuff—single-origin beans and darker roasts. “If there’s an opportunity to give back, they appreciate it,” says McMahon. “They don’t mind paying a premium for it.”
The coffee you drink at work is a microcosm of the larger corporate sustainability awakening: Price was once paramount, but now values-driven buyers are looking for quality products with good deeds attached. Smart companies are adapting.
Keurig Dr Pepper Canada, parent company of Van Houtte Coffee Services, has committed to sourcing 100 per cent of its coffee from responsible sources by 2020. Stéphane Glorieux, president of Keurig Dr Pepper Canada, says the company is on track to meet that goal, part of a global approach that involves thirdparty product certification such as Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade International.
Improving the lives and livelihoods of coffee farmers is also crucial, he says.
With their farmers all over the world, many on small lots, Glorieux admits that establishing links with these communities can be a challenge. Keurig has been building trust with its coffee growers for decades, establishing long-term relationships, building climate resiliency, community projects and ensuring that fair wages improve their quality of life.
“It’s very important to have this link with the farmers. Their health, the conditions they live in, and protecting the ecosystem that surrounds them are important to us, and help ensure the future of coffee,” he says.
In early 2019, Van Houtte Coffee Services partnered with ME to WE Coffee That Changes Lives and has since brought the Fairtrade certified brew to more than 400 offices across Canada. The beans are sourced from ethical cooperatives across Africa and Latin America, and the coffee gives back through proceeds from sales. ME to WE Coffee That Changes Lives supports female entrepreneurs in these countries with financial literacy training and better business opportunities. Women are provided with a living wage, while the farming communities benefit from development initiatives funded through sales donations.
“Drinking coffee is something most people do every day,” says McMahon. “Now we’re giving them another reason to enjoy every sip with something that does good.”
In the summer of 2019, McMahon and a group from Van Houtte Coffee Services travelled to Kenya’s Maasai Mara to meet some of the women who benefit from ME to WE Coffee That Changes Lives. Seeing the impact firsthand and volunteering in the community on a school build, “pushed our brand even further, in the right way,” he says, “I was so grateful for the experience.”
“Ten years ago, sustainability was a very niche approach,” Glorieux adds. “Today, it gives me hope to see more companies acting responsibly and embedding sustainability in their businesses. Through transparency, partnership, innovation and investment, we will continue to tackle important issues and contribute to a better world.”