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By Ashley Symons, Marketing Writer
In honor of Earth Day on April 22, we’d like to share some of the environmentally-focused initiatives we have going on at Equal Exchange. From lessening our carbon footprint by using recycled materials, to supporting farmer projects to plant more shade trees, we are making efforts to fight climate change. We hope you’ll join us in creating a more sustainable world – on Earth Day, and every day.
PRODUCER PARTNERS
Sourcing from organic farms
By far, our biggest contribution to sustainability continues to be our choice to source organic foods. We know that by sourcing 90% of our coffee and 100% of our tea, cocoa and sugar from certified organic farms, we’re helping to preserve watersheds, biodiversity, wildlife habitats, as well as creating safe working and living environments for thousands of farmers and their families. We also know that whereas conventional farming is a major contributor of global warming gases, organic farming actually helps to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
While 25 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming are estimated to come from the agriculture sector, the sustainable farming practices of many small-scale farmers actually help to cool the planet and protect our natural resources. Organic farming, reforestation, soil and watershed protection, and the use of stoves that convert organic waste into methane gas are just some of the ways in which small-scale farmers are keeping our food, our bodies, and our ecosystems healthy.
Many of the agriculture and trade policies in the U.S. are designed to favor large, agricultural corporations. The subsidies, credits, and tax incentives the government awards to agribusiness dramatically undermine the ability of small farmers to compete in the marketplace. Even our energy policies and consumption patterns, which contribute to global warming, affect small farmers disproportionately. Although they farm in ways that steward the land and keep the planet cool, global warming causes changes in weather patterns which affect crops and crop cycles. Unusual storms have become more frequent and severe, causing a loss of lives, homes, crops and livelihoods.
But we can reverse this environmental degradation and ensure that we leave a greener planet for our children. “Through our actions, we can take steps to reduce our environmental footprint, help farmers save their local ecosystems, and advocate for agriculture and trade policies that actually benefit small-scale producers and workers instead of corporations,” writes Equal Exchange Education & Campaigns Manager Phyllis Robinson on the Equal Exchange blog.
Small Farmers Green Planet Fund
As part of our campaign, “Small Farmers. Big Change: A green and more just food system starts with small farmers,” Equal Exchange created the Small Farmers Green Planet Fund to support farmer sustainability projects in Mexico, Nicaragua, South Africa, and Colombia. These projects support initiatives such as climate change adaptation projects, income diversification, biosphere protection, organic conversion, reforestation, and environmental preservation.
Ways to Contribute to the Small Farmers Green Planet Fund:
- When you purchase 12-oz. packages of Organic Love Buzz, Equal Exchange donates 20 cents/package into the Small Farmer Green Planet Fund.
- Purchase a Small Farmer Gift Basket, which includes a variety of Equal Exchange products that support these farmer projects through the Small Farmer Green Planet Fund.
- Donations to the fund make a great gift, available on our Retail Web store. We’ll send the recipient a card letting them know about the donation made on their behalf in support of small farmers – and the earth!
- You can also donate directly to the fund on the Grassroots International Web site.
A SMALLER FOOTPRINT
Zero waste café
Our new Equal Exchange Café in Boston works with a local company, Save That Stuff, for compost and recycling needs. All cups (hot and cold) and some food containers are compostable. All coffee and espresso grounds are composted, too. A discount is offered to customers who bring in travel mugs, in effort to further reduce waste. Actual trash is kept to a minimum.
Additionally, the wood around the service counter and condiment stand is reclaimed cedar from a greenhouse. The wood used on the window counters is reclaimed from a steel mill in Pennsylvania, and the chairs and stools are repurposed from other restaurants.
The café sources its bread, pastries and other food items from local businesses, further reducing food miles.
A greener cup
This winter, Equal Exchange switched over to the Ecotainer cup for retail spaces. After researching several options, we concluded that the Ecotainer cup was the best option for us, striking a balance between quality and environmental impact.
The cups are made from fully renewable resources, manufactured with a corn-based plastic lining (PLA – polylactic acid resin) instead of the standard petroleum-based lining. They require less energy to produce than standard hot cups and, in turn, reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition, the all-wood fiber used in the cup comes from sustainably harvested forests. The cups are fully compostable under proper conditions in an industrial composting facility (find one in your local area: www.findacomposter.com).
While they aren’t perfect, the cups are a step in the right direction as Equal Exchange continues to find new ways to reduce our environmental footprint.
LOOKING AHEAD
Internal Audit
To improve performance in any area, a big step forward is to figure out “how are we doing now?” Sometimes this is easy to answer, sometimes not. For example, we know that working almost exclusively with organic farmers is a big plus for the environment. Conversely, we also know that the coffee packaging we use (which is the standard one used by the industry) is not so good. Yet in other areas we just don’t know the environmental impact of our practices and how they stack up.
To fix this, we’ve recently hired a team of environmental experts to come to our main facility in West Bridgewater and conduct an environmental audit of our physical operation – from the light bulbs in the offices, to our two coffee roasters, to how the staff commutes to work everyday. The main focus is: How much energy do we use? What options exist to reduce our energy use and at what cost? What are the opportunities to increase recycling, composting and minimize the physical waste we generate?
We don’t have the final results yet, but will soon. And when we do we’ll be in a much better position to take our next steps to operate in a truly sustainable manner.
Join the conversations on creating a more sustainable world on our blog at www.SmallFarmersBigChange.coop
Phyllis Robinson and Rodney North contributed to this article.
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