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CAFÉ CONVENIENCE FROM PAGE 46 The company works directly with other businesses, consumers and campaigners to make trade fair by securing a better deal for farmers and workers. The organisation, 50 per cent owned by producers, says it’s important for coffee producers to recognise the work that Fairtrade does in the coffee category, supporting the livelihoods of farmers and in turn associating the coffee trade with ethically responsible products. Coffee production is highly dependent on weather conditions, susceptible to disease and influenced by a range of other factors, says Fairtrade. It adds that farmers’ lack of market knowledge means they’re frequently not paid adequately. Globally, Fairtrade says, it works with 445 coffee producer organisations, representing 810,000 farmers in 30 countries, to make sure they are paid fairly for their produce and work. A piping hot future? Many different aspects of the coffee category can be viewed through sustainability friendly lenses, including environmental, economic, social and health issues. Mr Haines cites the ways in which Jasper Coffee enhances, and will continue to enhance, its ethical processes. “Jasper Coffee holds in stock Australia’s largest selection of single origin beans, blends, Fairtrade, organic and speciality coffees,” he said. “This enables buyers to have a large range to choose from when it comes to organic and ethically responsible products. “Sustainability has always shaped how \\\\\\\[Jasper Coffee\\\\\\\] does business. This has been manifested by its certifications of organic, Fairtrade and carbon neutral, along with its search for shade grown coffees, the cleaning products it uses, its compostable packaging, and the economic and social benefits \\\\\\\[it helps provide\\\\\\\] for growers.” Mr Miller adds that Latitude Coffee’s contributions to sustainability, apart from the use of husk as chicken litter, include hessian bags used in farms and furniture, solar power for its roasting equipment “to aid the grid”, and its Eversys coffee machines “all with green mode” for lower power usage in quieter times. Touching on economic aspects, Mr Miller said: “Sourcing higher grade beans from farmers to ensure their work results in higher pay and keeping all their staff employed and fairly paid.” He says this is achieved even while using “local green importers”, with Latitude’s insistence on ethical and traceable sources. On the subject of social benefits, Mr Miller said: “We’re always looking to support any valid requests from farms to ensure water sustainable usage. He adds that this includes water tanks for rainwater and irrigation systems, as well as “water quality for locals surrounding those farms”. Referring to the health aspect of Latitude’s contribution to sustainability, Mr Miller says the company plans to launch a new product line reapplying used coffee grounds for a health and beauty initiative. “After producing our cold brew \\\\\\\[we\\\\\\\] create a body and facial scrub with natural ingredients, such as coconut oil and orange extract,” he said. Looking ahead, Mr Miller says Latitude has in place “a new, more ‘affordable’, reusable cup for when we’re able to start selling them”. “We’ll get seriously aggressive with the deals on these, to push consumers into this practice,” he said. It seems this type of launch is set to be popular among coffee producers, with Mr Trenfield from Jasper Coffee saying it also has a sustainable and reusable coffee cup in the works, which is to be plastic free. Light at the bottom of a coffee cup While there have been multiple setbacks in the world of sustainability and coffee, the passion and drive to maintain progress remain evident in coffee roasters. “We look to reintroduce the use of reusable cups when it’s feasible, subject to entering our commercial sanitiser on site at \\\\\\\[Latitude’s\\\\\\\] BaseCamp Specialty Coffee,” Mr Miller said. “Sustainability in coffee should never be put on hold, regardless of what’s happening in the world, and I’m certain that where we’ve taken a small step back in the COVID-19 era, companies will have made great progress in other areas, as they’ve had to adapt in the same way the cafe and restaurant environment have done.” More recent information sheds light on consumer behaviour patterns as a consequence of the COVID-19 crisis. As reported in Convenience World, a survey conducted in early April, which asked consumers about their buying habits, indicated a positive trend for sustainability. The survey found 45 per cent of respondents were making more sustainable choices when shopping, and were likely to continue to do so beyond the COVID-19 crisis. Findings such as this is a step in the right direction in maintaining sustainability, no matter how many backward steps have been taken. Mr Miller and Mr Haines have both made it clear that projects are in the pipeline for helping to put sustainability in the coffee sector back on the right track. Mr Haines says his team will continue to ensure sustainability is achieved post COVID-19 by “staying on course” in line with the strategy and end goal already set, and “playing the long game”. 48 CONVENIENCE WORLD MAY/JUN, 2020