| our sustainability
program |
| established
in 1991, groundwork
coffee company became
one of the very first certified organic coffee
roasters in southern california (as well
as the largest organic coffee roaster
in los angeles). Since 1993, groundwork has
been a pioneer in organic, fair trade
coffee sourcing and sustainable business
practices. |
| groundwork’s on-going commitment is to
source, purchase and roast the best organic coffees from around
the world, while helping to improve the lives of farmers, processors,
company employees and customers. |
| organic
certification; insures the coffee and the
community that grew it are not exposed to harmful
pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. currently
coffee is the third most chemically treated agricultural
crop in the world, behind only tobacco and cotton.
all of our organic coffees are certified by one
of several international certification organizations,
including, qai (quality assurance international),
and ocia (organic crop improvement association). |
| organic
tea; beginning in 2010, all tea sold by groundwork will
be certified organically grown. This will include herbal
tea, iced tea and tisanes. |
| roaster
certification; our roaster is certified organic
by the state of california and all our coffees
are certified kosher by an even higher authority. |
| fairly
traded; means coffee farmers are paid an
equitable price for their product and labor. our coffees
receive an agreed upon price that is significantly higher
than current market prices. |
| shade
grown coffee; traditionally coffee trees
were grown under a canopy of indigenous forests.
the native trees provided habitat to an entire
eco-system of animals, birds and insects.
the falling foliage provided bio-diverse nutrients
to the soil and their shade promoted slow,
full-flavored growth of the coffee beans.
unfortunately, modern farming methods eliminated
the canopy trees in favor of more coffee trees
and more yield per acre of tillable land.
this has resulted in loss of habitat and inferior coffee.
fortunately, shade grown coffee farming methods have been
revived in many coffee growing regions, especially those
practicing organic agriculture. groundwork is
committed to purchasing shade grown coffee whenever possible. |
| groundwork’s sustainability
practices also include roasting and retail
operations. our coffee roasters utilize low
carbon footprint natural gas and the groundwork’s
vehicle fleet is also powered by natural gas
instead of petroleum. the roastry meets all
aqmd requirements for improving southern california
air quality. the 10,000 square foot roastry
roof has been coated with a heat reflective
surface to cut down on energy use and most
roasting operations are carried out in early morning hours
to save further energy usage. |
| recycling
and reuse are
key elements of groundwork’s effort to reduce its carbon footprint. |
| all
burlap and jute coffee sacks are recycled
and used for various industries including furniture and
textiles. all cardboard boxes and paper goods used in the
roastry and retail outlets are recycled through community
programs. |
| all
to-go containers in retail stores are made
from partial post consumer recycled materials.
these include, paper cups, coffee bags, utensils and shopping
bags. each groundwork retail store is equipped with separated
recycling containers for glass, paper and plastic items. |
| groundwork actively
encourages customers to reuse and recycle
all coffee containers. customers are given a ten cent ($.10)
discount on drinks when they bring their own cups or use groundwork travel
mugs. customers who purchase bulk coffee beans
and reuse groundwork coffee bags or coffee cans receive
a substantial discount, twenty five cents ($.25) per purchase. |
| groundwork makes its used organic coffee
grounds available to all customers and community groups
as compost for gardening or indoor plants. |
| groundwork employees
are encouraged to bicycle, ride share and
use alternative forms of public transportation.
additionally, groundwork,
working with the city of los angeles, has
pushed for the installation of bicycle racks
on the sidewalk in front of all of our stores. |
| cleaning
products; groundwork is
committed to using only low impact, environmentally friendly
cleaning products and services in its roasting and retail
operations. our company has contracted with a pest control
company that is organic compliant and uses no harmful chemicals
while successfully eliminating all pests in the store and
roasting environments. |
baked
goods and food; groundwork uses
organic ingredients whenever possible
in its house made baked goods and
food. all company made baked goods are free of trans-fats
and artificial ingredients. |
milk,
soy milk, rice
milk; in early 2010
groundwork is planning to replace
all dairy products with certified
organically raised, fed and produced
products. this will include soy
milk, rice milk and chocolate powders. |
groundwork
coffee company is committed to community involvement.
our company participates in hundreds
of local community events annually;
including fund raisers, clean-up
projects and the local arts. we
are constantly rotating the artwork
in our retail stores with the majority
of work being drawn from the local
artist community. our store in hollywood
has presented a “performers
night” which
spotlights local, emerging singer/songwriters.
groundwork has been a key contributor
of product and funding to kcrw public
radio for more than ten years. |
future
plans; in the near future, groundwork plans
to convert to a paperless office
as much as possible. the company
is switching all r/o (reverse osmosis)
water filtration systems to a water filtration
system that will save thousands of gallons
of water per store per year. wherever possible,
groundwork will install low water use
toilets, urinals and faucets in our retail stores to
conserve even more water. future retail locations
will utilize recycled or used building materials
and the store designs will focus on creating a low carbon
impact while maintaining groundwork’s key design elements. |
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