Branching out into Fairtrade led to success for coffee firm
Our approach starts with coffee and a commitment to be a dependable partner for the farmers in our supply chains
MATTHEW Algie, a Glasgow-based coffee roaster, sells his product to shops, bars, restaurants, hotels and businesses across the UK and Ireland, and also offers coffee machines.
As pioneers of Fairtrade coffee, the company launched the UK'S first Fairtrade espresso blend,
Tiki, in 1997.
Building on some of the milestones it has achieved in the past, Matthew Algie introduced its five-year plan (2017-2021), using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a framework to shape its priorities.
The plan explains its commitments across its strategic pillars: sustainable sourcing of coffee and other products: reducing its environmental impact; investing in people: and engaging with its community.
Matthew explains: “Sustainability is, and always has been, an absolute core principle of how we do business.
“Our approach starts with coffee and our commitment to be a dependable partner for the farmers in our supply chains, many of whom operate in environmentally, socially or economically challenging contexts.
“Our intention for our five-year plan is to deepen the impact of our work by setting meaningful priorities.”
The company has set robust goals across all its strategic workstreams.
For example, its environmental goals include:
Reduce percentage of waste to landfill to less than 1% of total waste
Reduce net CO2 emissions per tonne of coffee roasted by 10%
Conduct at least one employee engagement campaign per year which reaches 100% of employees
Reduce the amount of non-production water used per £1,000 of company turnover by 5%
Offset carbon emissions working with Forest Carbon.
However, the firm points out that achieving true success in sustainability is often about partnerships and collaborations. for example, an energy audit by Resource Efficient Scotland led to its ongoing LED lighting rollout.
Furthermore, a study into using coffee as a biofuel source came about through the Scottish Biofuel Programme, a collaboration between academics at the University of Edinburgh and the Scottish Government.