Sustainability
So, do we care about where our coffee comes from?, absolutely we do!!
As a company, S.W.Beans Limited is not just dedicated to supply our customers with the best quality coffee, we also make sure that where our coffee comes from is ethically sourced.
Most suppliers work solely on the 'Fair Trade' farmers which is great but not only do we work with 'Fair Trade' farmers we also work more with 'Direct Trade' farmer, so what is the difference?.
Fair Trade
Fairtrade coffee is coffee that is certified by Fairtrade International to meet certain social, economic, and environmental standards. This means that when you buy Fairtrade coffee, you are supporting farmers and workers in developing countries by ensuring they receive a fair price for their product, improved working conditions, and access to community development programs.
Here's a more detailed explanation:
Fairtrade Minimum Price: Fairtrade coffee guarantees farmers a minimum price for their beans, which covers the cost of sustainable production. This price acts as a safety net, ensuring farmers are protected even when world market prices drop.
Fairtrade Premium: In addition to the minimum price, companies pay an extra sum of money called the Fairtrade Premium. This premium is invested in community development projects chosen by the farmers themselves, such as improving schools, healthcare facilities, or farming practices.
Social and Environmental Standards: Fairtrade certification also includes standards that promote:
-
Worker rights:
Protecting workers from forced labor, child labor, and discrimination, and ensuring fair wages and working conditions.
-
Environmental sustainability:
Encouraging environmentally friendly farming practices, such as reducing the use of pesticides and promoting water conservation.
Impact: By choosing Fairtrade coffee, you contribute to:
-
Improved livelihoods: Ensuring farmers receive a fair income and can invest in their communities.
-
Sustainable farming: Promoting environmentally responsible farming practices and protecting natural resources.
-
Community development: Supporting access to education, healthcare, and other essential services.
Direct Trade
Direct trade coffee is a sourcing model where coffee roasters buy beans directly from farmers, bypassing intermediaries like exporters and importers. This approach emphasizes building strong, transparent relationships with farmers, ensuring fair prices and promoting quality and sustainability.
Here's a more detailed explanation:
Key aspects of direct trade:
-
Direct Relationships:
Roasters establish direct relationships with farmers, fostering transparency and traceability throughout the supply chain.
-
Fair Compensation:
Direct trade generally involves paying farmers prices that are higher than market rates, often significantly exceeding Fairtrade minimums, to ensure they receive fair value for their crops and hard work.
-
Quality Focus:
Direct trade allows roasters to work closely with farmers to improve coffee quality, experimenting with processing methods and varietals.
-
Long-term Sustainability:
By building trust and mutual understanding, direct trade promotes long-term, sustainable partnerships that benefit both roasters and farmers.
-
Transparency and Traceability:
Direct trade allows for greater transparency about the origin and journey of the coffee, ensuring ethical and sustainable practices.
-
In contrast to Fair Trade:
-
Fair Trade focuses on certification and minimum price guarantees for farmers.
-
Direct trade emphasizes building personal relationships and fostering mutual respect between roasters and farmers.
-
Direct trade roasters often pay higher prices than the Fairtrade minimum, focusing on quality and specific farm needs.
We Are Also Proud To Say -
-
Our packaging is LDPE4 recyclable and is delivered in fully sustainably managed forest cardboard boxes.
-
Our coffee beans are sustainably sourced with fair trade deals for the coffee farmers, this is very important to SWBeans.
-
All of our labels and paper tapes are fully recyclable
-
Our delicious teas are bagged in completely plastic free bags, and fully compostable.
-
Our workshops and offices run on low energy LED lighting and where possible we implement a paperless process, with our invoices emailed to our customers.
-
We have created a comprehensive online portal for machine guides and help with repairs in order to reduce unnecessary mileage from our engineers and vehicles.
-
We are also proud to say that our offices in Liskeard, Cornwall, runs off solar power, to help with further sustainability.
About Our Roasters -
Our coffee roaster, based right here in the glorious South West, has two roastery spaces which are now fitted with solar panels, providing more than the total amount of energy that they use in a year.
The roasters (one from 1968 and another from 1991) have recently been refurbished to increase efficiency, with new modulating gas burners, improved insulation, and new control panels.
They have also changed their production schedule to ensure that no energy is wasted waiting for temperature changes in roasters, and reducing gas usage by up to 60%.
They have also joined with the 2030 Carbon Pledge, and are currently in the process of applying for ISO 14001 and B-Corp Certification. They were also featured as a showcase study during COP26, where James, (the Owner of the roasters), was personally invited on to a panel to talk about all of their successes in carbon reduction over the last few years - this includes both roastery spaces now being fully solar-powered and our fleet of seven electric vehicles. They also sell back any unused energy to the grid for use across the country.
If You Have Any Questions Regarding The Sustainability Of Our Coffee Options Please Click Here And Email Our Team That Will Forward Any Information To Help Answer Your Question