Coffee is a saving grace for many a workday. Or, to be more precise, GOOD (ethically sourced) coffee is a saving grace for many a workday. Now, for most, subpar ‘value’ coffee is no longer considered an acceptable way to get that much-needed morning caffeine hit. More informed drinkers demand coffee that’s top quality and sourced from a responsible supply chain.
As office caterers, we aim to make people feel energised and happy at work. So when we are responsible for a client’s drinks and snacks, we don’t cut corners to give them a proper brew. All of us at Team Fooditude are pretty darn serious about our mission to become sustainable caterers, which requires choosing like-minded suppliers.
That’s why we source most of our coffee from Pact Coffee. They take their ESG responsibilities seriously. Now let’s dig a little deeper.
Sitting comfortably? Perfect! Got freshly brewed coffee to hand? Great! Let’s go…
Who is Pact Coffee?
Pact Coffee is making their industry better for people and the planet. They’re widely known by coffee heads for their much-loved coffee home subscription service, but Pact Coffee also keeps offices and hospitality supplied with some of the best beans in the business.
It’s worth noting that Pact Coffee only deals in specialty coffee beans. This means that their coffee is the highest grade on the market. In other words, it’s superior-tasting coffee that’s hard to beat.
Why we love Pact Coffee:
They treat farmers fairly
Let’s face it, overall the coffee industry leaves a bitter taste in the mouth for how it treats farmers. Ready for a depressing fact? The traditional supply chain has ten steps from the farmer selling their beans before it reaches the unwitting drinker. Instead, Pact Coffee sources all coffee directly from farmers (A.K.A. Direct Trade) with average payments of 60% above the Fairtrade base price in 2021. Less middlemen means more of the profits go to the farmers – the REAL stars of the show.
Pact Coffee doesn’t stop at Direct Trade. They take extra care to vet their farmers, choosing those that respect their local environmental rules, follow safe water processing methods and support reforestation initiatives. Moreover, they source almost 30% of coffee from women-led farms and are working to improve this. Finally, they make small (but impactful) investments into farmers to improve their coffee quality – and thereby the value of the coffee itself for the farmers.
No wonder Pact Coffee landed B Corp certification in 2022. In other words, Pact Coffee meets B Corp’s “high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency”. A round of applause for Pact Coffee, don’t you think?
But why is supporting global coffee farmers go important?
- Worldwide, coffee growers face multiple insecurities to their livelihoods with the volatility of market prices and too many middlemen chipping away at their share of the profits.
- Gender inequality is ever present in coffee farming. Women are being marginalised in the industry with less income, land ownership and access to credit.
- The Sustainable Restaurant Association reports that global exports of coffee, tea, cocoa and spices tripled between 2000 and 2010, but the value share retained by primary producers dropped by 10%. By choosing coffee brands that realise the actual value of the crops, we can all support social and environmental good.
And that's not all that makes Pact Coffee one of our favourites
Whilst we want to highlight Pact Coffee’s relationships with farmers, we’d be remiss not to highlight their work tackling their carbon footprint and benefitting people in the U.K.
The Carbon Killers
Pact Coffee is treading ever so lightly with its carbon footprint. At the time of writing, they’re carbon neutral across Scope 1 and 2 emissions. The total sum of the carbon released by Pact Coffee’s roastery, central office and in-house transport is no greater than what they absorb through carbon offsetting and improved sustainability. And now they’re taking their next steps to make Scope 3 emissions carbon neutral too.
Doing good in the UK
During the catastrophic events of 2021 (no, we’re not going to say the ‘C####19’ word here), Pact Coffee donated a generous amount of coffee and clothing to the N.H.S. It’s also worth noting that they’re a living wage employer. Lastly, they’re currently busy finding new ways to make their packaging compostable within food waste bins. Nice guys, the Pact Coffee team.
It's a wrap
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: businesses can create positive change when they work together. Fooditude’s environmental and social impact is heavily influenced by what our suppliers do. That is why we love Pact Coffee – we trust ’em. When we use their beans at our client’s sites, we know their employees are sipping coffee that leads to a brighter future.
But Fooditude’s sustainability impact goes further than coffee; we also have breakfast, lunch, dinner, events and snacks to think about. So rest assured, we’ve rolled up our sleeves and made good headway in our sustainability journey. We’d love to show you how we’re doing, so if you’ve got a few minutes spare, check out our sustainability page and policy.
Co-written by Anouk Dijkman and James Ricketts
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