Imagine a World at Peace with itself
Imagine a world where corporate responsibility isn’t just a tag line but a way of life. Where companies expend as much effort into environmental stewardship as they do branding. Where we constantly look for new ways to improve our world, rather than consume it.
Education
We don’t claim to have the answers to the world’s problems. But we do claim to be actively seeking them. We strive to educate ourselves and our customers about the issues that directly impact the cultures and practices of our growers and processors. We allow those educational process to be our guide, teaching us where to focus our resources, and our efforts, to have the most positive impact on the world we live in.
Environmental Stewardship
Ecology dictates that our planet is a complex web of interconnected organisms. We seek to discover and improve how our actions impact others in this complex web of life. We have examined our business model, and have looked closely at the ways in which our industry impacts the planet. Following the principles of ecology, our initial decisions about the appropriate starting points have been focused on issues that are specific to the process of providing high quality coffee that we can all feel good about savoring.
Initiatives
We are realists. While we may strive for perfection, we acknowledge that there are challenges we have yet to face. As a fledgling company we must concede that for-profit companies cannot exist, much less give back, without making a profit. Given this inherent limitation, we are striving to find ways, big and little, for Maddabout to become a better corporate citizen. Specifically, we are focusing our initial efforts on:
- Reducing our carbon footprint
- Watershed initiatives in coffee-producing regions
- Supporting environmental non-profits
- Support grass roots campaigns fighting poverty
Click below to learn more about the programs we are implementing and supporting:
It is inevitable, in any industry, that the process results in a significant carbon footprint. The coffee industry is no different in that regard. Coffee roasters across the nation have attempted various alterations to the process in an attempt to minimize that impact, all of which are flawed. Take the afterburner, which many local and state governments began to require in an attempt to reduce the emission of particulate matter into the air during the roasting process. However, a small afterburner requires an enormous 100,000 Btus per hour, and significant quantities of that heat is simply lost up the stack – the consumption of this quantity of power completely eradicates the benefits associated with using an afterburner. Some roasters use air instead of the traditional drum and gas style. This uses less gas but requires more electricity which in the end makes either choice about equal. Happily, a few manufacturers are beginning to design roasters that recirculate the heat used, which significantly increases the efficiency of the roasting process. There are some designs available but most are still in development, and are very expensive. We are also an industry plagued by packaging waste – sealable packaging is both necessary to preserve the freshness of the product, and is not bio-degradable. Some roasters choose to use recyclable steel cans, again their heart is in the right place but the steel to make the cans requires tremendous energy. Our coffee houses use resources to prepare drinks, and then serve them to their customers with a disposable cup and plastic lid. The list goes on and on.
We are as passionate about finding solutions as we are about our coffee. While the coffee process itself may never be carbon neutral, we're committed to reducing our carbon footprint, either by process changes, or by participating in carbon offset programs, or both. We invite you to watch us chart our progress, and share with you both our starting point, and our objectives and encourage our customers to give feedback:
With no alteration, our process will produce a half a pound of CO2 for each pound of coffee we produce! We are giving ourselves 24 months in which to become carbon neutral, 50% in each 12 month period. Our strategy is to:
We are as passionate about finding solutions as we are about our coffee. While the coffee process itself may never be carbon neutral, we're committed to reducing our carbon footprint, either by process changes, or by participating in carbon offset programs, or both. We invite you to watch us chart our progress, and share with you both our starting point, and our objectives and encourage our customers to give feedback:
With no alteration, our process will produce a half a pound of CO2 for each pound of coffee we produce! We are giving ourselves 24 months in which to become carbon neutral, 50% in each 12 month period. Our strategy is to:
- Research and visit the entire supply chain from grower to cup, developing a more transparent supply chain thereby making informed decisions on where we can improve and share it with our customers.
- Develop our roasting process so it is more energy efficient and reuses the energy we are losing while roasting and sharing our results with our peers and customers.
- Participate in tree-planting efforts.
- Reduce our waste by recycling it, from burlap sacks to chaff to packaging.
- Utilize recycled products in our roastery and shipping departments.
- Conduct business electronically to reduce paper waste.
- Roast only pesticide-free coffee beans which have not been chemically processed.
- Determine which growers and processors are discharging wet-processing byproducts improperly and negatively impacting the ecosystem, and ensure that our beans are not originating from those sources until their process is updated.
- Participate in renewable energy programs that allow us to direct our energy dollars to renewable energy providers.
Waterkeeper Alliance is the international center of a network of Waterkeeper programs. The Alliance approves new Waterkeeper programs, licenses the use of the Waterkeeper names, represents the individual Waterkeepers on issues of national interest, and serves as a meeting place for all the Waterkeepers to exchange information, strategy and know-how. The Alliance and its member Waterkeeper groups meet at least once a year, rotating between regions, and communicates regularly in the interim.
1% For The Planet was launched by Yvon Chouinard, environmental activist and founder of outdoor clothing company Patagonia, Inc., and Craig Mathews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies in 2001. Chouinard and Mathews, both astute and visionary businessmen, had empirical experience with the great success environmental commitment had brought to their businesses. They wanted to unify other companies to help solve the environmental crisis and build successful companies at the same time.
Patagonia, Inc. has been contributing 10% of pre-tax profits or 1% of sales, whichever is greater, each year to environmental groups since 1985. Chouinard calls this an "earth tax," recognizing that his company has a responsibility to conserve and protect the natural resources it utilizes to make and market its products. Since 1985, Patagonia, Inc. has provided over $19 million to environmental nonprofits worldwide. Chouinard wanted to expand this idea of "environmental tithing" throughout the private sector, and at the same time support the efforts of thousands of environmental activists around the world. Craig Mathews, who donates 2% of net sales to local environmental organizations near his store in Yellowstone, Montana, thinks the environmental commitment 1% FTP membership demonstrates has boosted his sales and the loyalty of his customers.
In November 2001, 1% For The Planet held an official launch event at the Patagonia, Inc. store in San Francisco, California, during which twenty-one businesses signed up as members. These included a wide array of companies such as a winery, a coffee company, and a guide service. As a result of word-of-mouth buzz, some terrific news articles, and the leadership role that 1% FTP business alliance members have taken in spreading the word, 1% FTP has been receiving a steady stream of inquiries from potential new business members as well as from environmental organizations seeking to join the growing ranks of approved 1% FTP nonprofit environmental organizations. We hope this groundswell of action continues and results in a redefined way of doing business!
Patagonia, Inc. has been contributing 10% of pre-tax profits or 1% of sales, whichever is greater, each year to environmental groups since 1985. Chouinard calls this an "earth tax," recognizing that his company has a responsibility to conserve and protect the natural resources it utilizes to make and market its products. Since 1985, Patagonia, Inc. has provided over $19 million to environmental nonprofits worldwide. Chouinard wanted to expand this idea of "environmental tithing" throughout the private sector, and at the same time support the efforts of thousands of environmental activists around the world. Craig Mathews, who donates 2% of net sales to local environmental organizations near his store in Yellowstone, Montana, thinks the environmental commitment 1% FTP membership demonstrates has boosted his sales and the loyalty of his customers.
In November 2001, 1% For The Planet held an official launch event at the Patagonia, Inc. store in San Francisco, California, during which twenty-one businesses signed up as members. These included a wide array of companies such as a winery, a coffee company, and a guide service. As a result of word-of-mouth buzz, some terrific news articles, and the leadership role that 1% FTP business alliance members have taken in spreading the word, 1% FTP has been receiving a steady stream of inquiries from potential new business members as well as from environmental organizations seeking to join the growing ranks of approved 1% FTP nonprofit environmental organizations. We hope this groundswell of action continues and results in a redefined way of doing business!
1970s
ActionAid was founded by British businessman Cecil Jackson-Cole as a child sponsorship charity (originally called Action in Distress) in 1972, with 88 UK supporters sponsoring 88 children in India and Kenya. Our focus was on providing children with an education.
During our first decade we established long-term programmes in India, Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi and The Gambia, and saw our first emergency work in Honduras and Bangladesh. Our work expanded to include long-term health, sanitation and agricultural projects that would improve living conditions for children and their families.
1980s The 1980s saw a huge increase in the number of countries we work in. We expanded our potential supporter base, with affiliated organisations being established in France, Spain, Ireland and Italy. Our focus shifted to tackling the root causes of poverty, not just the symptoms. We began to work with communities to boost agricultural production, improve water supplies, gain access to basic healthcare and find new sources of income. We helped poor people organise themselves to challenge injustice and demand their entitlements from their own governments. In 1987 we funded a new organisation in Uganda, called the AIDS Support Organisation. Since then our HIV & AIDS work has greatly expanded, In 1988, in response to UK teachers’ requests, we produced 20 school resource packs. These were so successful that by 1994 half the schools in the UK were using ActionAid’s education materials. Today these include CD-ROMs, videos, photo-packs and reference books for use in geography, literacy, citizenship and modern languages classes.
1990s During the 1990s we launched two international campaigns, on education and food rights. Reflect, our innovative approach to adult learning, was piloted in Uganda, Bangladesh and El Salvador, and is now used in over 50 countries. We increasingly focused on ways of supporting people to bring about positive changes in their communities – and began to lobby governments and agencies like the World Bank and UN to take poor people’s needs into account. We started working on peace building and reconciliation in a number of African countries, to help prevent violent conflict and cultivate peace in post-conflict situations.
2000 and beyond In 2003, we launched ActionAid International as a coalition fighting poverty across the globe. We established a new head office in South Africa, and began the process of making all our country programmes equal partners, with an equal say on how we operate. Now we are helping over 13 million of the world's poorest and most disadvantaged people in 42 countries worldwide. In all of our country programmes we work with local partners to make the most of their knowledge and experience.
1980s The 1980s saw a huge increase in the number of countries we work in. We expanded our potential supporter base, with affiliated organisations being established in France, Spain, Ireland and Italy. Our focus shifted to tackling the root causes of poverty, not just the symptoms. We began to work with communities to boost agricultural production, improve water supplies, gain access to basic healthcare and find new sources of income. We helped poor people organise themselves to challenge injustice and demand their entitlements from their own governments. In 1987 we funded a new organisation in Uganda, called the AIDS Support Organisation. Since then our HIV & AIDS work has greatly expanded, In 1988, in response to UK teachers’ requests, we produced 20 school resource packs. These were so successful that by 1994 half the schools in the UK were using ActionAid’s education materials. Today these include CD-ROMs, videos, photo-packs and reference books for use in geography, literacy, citizenship and modern languages classes.
1990s During the 1990s we launched two international campaigns, on education and food rights. Reflect, our innovative approach to adult learning, was piloted in Uganda, Bangladesh and El Salvador, and is now used in over 50 countries. We increasingly focused on ways of supporting people to bring about positive changes in their communities – and began to lobby governments and agencies like the World Bank and UN to take poor people’s needs into account. We started working on peace building and reconciliation in a number of African countries, to help prevent violent conflict and cultivate peace in post-conflict situations.
2000 and beyond In 2003, we launched ActionAid International as a coalition fighting poverty across the globe. We established a new head office in South Africa, and began the process of making all our country programmes equal partners, with an equal say on how we operate. Now we are helping over 13 million of the world's poorest and most disadvantaged people in 42 countries worldwide. In all of our country programmes we work with local partners to make the most of their knowledge and experience.
