Our top ten tips to make your café more sustainable
KATIE DEMPSTER, SENIOR CUSTOMER MARKETING EXECUTIVE & ALAN BEATTIE, SUSTAINABILITY ANALYST
Sustainability is at the forefront of everyone’s mind, as we all try to do our part for the planet. And with the Scottish Government’s announcement in 2019 to become Net Zero by 2045 and UK Government’s by 2050, businesses are no different.
As a café operator, here are several small, simple actions that you can do now to reduce your waste, carbon emissions and larger investments for a more sustainable future. Read on to find out our recommendations.
Supplier Partnerships
& Waste Management
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1
Source a sustainable coffee. Do you know where your coffee comes from? Is it grown sustainably and for a fair wage?
You can make a big difference by choosing a coffee brand that has certified coffee. Choosing a coffee that is certified as Organic, Rainforest Alliance or Fairtrade means that the coffee is grown in a way that conserves nature, protects biodiversity and provides better livelihoods for the coffee growers at origin.
Looking for inspiration? Our Peak & Wild coffee is underpinned by long-term supplier relationships and Rainforest Alliance certification as a minimum, it supports the preservation of celtic woodlands - and is climate positive too. That means we double our carbon offsetting, to have a positive – not neutral – impact, on the planet. All the while striving to minimise the emissions on our journey to net zero by 2040.
2
Choose more organic and local produce.
Offering a larger percentage of food that is locally grown, reduces road miles and fossil fuels used for transportation (and the chilling of products in transit.) A win-win for the environment and local businesses too!
3
Combat Food waste with a better inventory management system
If you do end up with excess waste, there are a number of alternatives to binning it. For excess food, donate to a local food bank or charity. Alternatively, apps like Too Good To Go and Olio are increasing in popularity, where your customers can buy excess leftover food for a small price!
Instead of dumping your coffee grounds in the bin, hand out to customers to use as an effective garden fertilizer or even a body scrub. More advanced technologies have seen used coffee grounds converted into Bio-bean (bio-fuel), GroCycle (mushrooms) or even as a palm oil alternative.
Ensure your baristas are skilled in milk techniques, reducing the amount of milk wasted after each drink. Interested in training further? Check out some of our courses in London, Dublin and Glasglow, covering methods to reduce milk wastage.
4
Offer plant-based milk alternatives
There is no doubt about the rising demand for non-dairy alternatives to milk with most cafés now offering more than one non-dairy option. The growing popularity of following a vegan diet, alongside an increasing awareness of the environmental impact of our food choices, is driving this change. Studies show that when comparing carbon emissions, land-use and water-use, plant-based alternatives can have three times less impact on the planet than dairy.
Looking for an upgrade to your plant-based offer? View a range of plant-based milk options here.
Consider A More
Sustainable Takeaway Offering
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We’ve all been there. You order a takeaway coffee, pick up a lid and sleeve to make it easier to carry, stirrer, a few napkins, a bottle of water from the fridge and some cutlery for your lunch later as it’s convenient. Whilst the number of funky, cool branded re-usable cups and bottles you’ve bought sit in the cupboard at home.
Of course, takeaway is a key offering for many café operations but there are things you can control to reduce the volumes of plastic that end up in landfill every day.
INCENTIVISE
5
Incentivise your customers to bring in their own keep-cups. This can take many forms including providing a discount for those using re-usable cups, bringing in a charge for disposable cups across your drink’s menu or even a loyalty scheme linked to the use of reusable cups. You could also sell your own re-usable cups for customers who don’t already have one – an added revenue bonus.
REDUCE
6
Reduce the use of single-use products where possible. Consider only providing takeaway accessories if a customer asks, instead of having them on display. You might establish that some non-essential takeaway accessories can easily be ditched, saving on disposables and costs too! Research from Zero Waste Scotland shows that 77% of us are concerned about the amount of single-use plastic items and packaging we use. With the new regulations on single-use plastics due to come into effect in August 2023, it provides an opportunity to shift the way we currently operate – as a business and a consumer.
ALTERNATIVES
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For takeaway products that you can’t do without, like disposable cups and packaging, consider a more environmentally friendly alternative such as Vegware. Made from sustainably sourced board, lined with plant-based heat-resistant PLA and commercially compostable where available. View our available range of Vegware cups and lids
Make sure that you educate your team and your customers on the correct way to recycle takeaway cups and offer an appropriate take-back scheme. You can find out more on the Cup Recycling Scheme website.
Incorporating Sustainability
Across the Entire Operation
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8
Go paperless
In today’s digital society, it has never been easier to consider going paperless. Using digital menu boards, loyalty programme apps, digital e-receipts across the various stages of the customer journey. Or at a minimum, ensure the paper that you do use is recycled paper or sustainably harvested fibre such as FSC certified.
9
Upcycled decor
Add character to your café and enhance your sustainability messaging through using upcycled or sustainably produced furniture and décor. There are many options to choose from, a menu board made from used coffee grounds or tables made from ocean plastics. Take for example, our Peak & Wild A-boards, made from waste plastics that were headed for landfill. And at the end of their life, can be recycled into something else once again!
10
Improvements & Upgrades
For a larger investment, consider the sustainability of your building. Improving the insulation in the ceilings, walls and double-glazing windows can help to improve energy efficiencies and save on gas and electrical outputs. Other investments, depending on your café and set-up, could include installing electric charging points, solar panels for a renewable energy source, replacing end-of-life appliances including dishwashers and water boilers with new energy-efficient technology equipment and even waterless urinal systems.
For further information on small business energy grants and advice on energy savings visit this useful Ofgem business energy efficiency page.
From the way we think as consumers, to the influence it has on our business operations, it’s clear that sustainability will only grow in importance. Whilst larger term sustainability initiatives will take considerable time and effort, there are a number of steps that could be actioned now to have a sizeable impact on your carbon footprint. Every step forward towards a more sustainable future is better than none!
At Matthew Algie, we are constantly working to improve our environmental impact and have recently launched our roadmap to Net Zero by 2040 with more information available soon.