Sustainability

Plastic

We avoid single-use plastic wherever possible.

  • For our refrigerated drinks all our packaging is either widely-recycled BPA free metal cans, recyclable glass bottles or recyclable cartons made from FSC certified Tetra Pak.
  • All our hot drinks cups are unlined (with plastic) and are 100% biodegradable and compostable. The paper used to make the cups is FSC certified. Our unlined paper products are all certified to EN13432 which means it will break down in 60-90 days in an industrial compost facility. 
  • Our hot cup lids are made from PLA (Polylactic Acid) which is a renewable bioplastic fully certified to EN13632 as a compostable product. 

Carbon Emissions

Our mantra is to reduce maintain as small a carbon footprint as possible and to offset carbon emissions where we can not. Take a look at the plan for the new cafe building which we intend to be very energy-efficient.

To minimise our operational carbon footprint we:

  • use local suppliers wherever possible – for instance our coffee is roasted by 80 Stone Coffee Roasters who are based in Croydon.
  • use an e-cargo bike rather than fossil-fuel powered vehicles for local tasks
  • are trialling composting our waste on site to minimise emissions associated with waste collection and processing whilst also producing a useful biproduct for the community gardens
  • encourage active transport amongst our employees by offering permanent employees the opportunity to make substantial savings when purchasing a bike/e-bike and associated equipment through the Green Commute Initiative  ‘cycle 2 work’ scheme.

Despite this we recognise we still have a carbon footrpint and we are committed to carbon offsetting as an additional measure. Last summer we offset 2 tonnes of carbon emissions to cover our use of propane gas for the pizza ovens.

Social Value

As an accredited Living Wage employer, we voluntarily pay our employees significantly above the minimum wage. We do this because we believe our staff deserve a wage which meets their everyday needs.