Business
Greening the coffee experience
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- Category: Business
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04 Oct 2010
- Published on Monday, 04 October 2010 10:33
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By Jen Balboa
Sustainability is an issue that the coffee industry is passionate about as it strives to make its operations – from coffee production to trade – environmentally friendly.
The trade of sustainable coffee enjoys support from numerous organizations such as the International Institute for Sustainable Development and even the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
As for sustainable production of coffee, international groups have come up with beans from sustainable coffee farms engaged in natural fertilizing methods.
However, there has been no vehicle for sustainably franchising coffee shops, which Ecoffee aims to change.
Ecoffee is the project of Desita, an Italian design company helmed by Norman Cescut, which aims to establish business protocols based on the principles of ecosustainability and social responsibility for the food-retail sector.
The project intends to create a concept store, particularly a coffee shop, that will be entirely ecofriendly and environmentally sustainable. Ecoffee will use recycled materials in constructing the coffee shop. In case recycled materials are not readily available, Ecoffee will use the most sustainable alternatives or materials that meet conservation and preservation requirements.
The protocol will demand a total recycling waste policy, the use of renewable energy and the sale and consumption of only UTZ-certified coffees. UTZ certification is the largest certification program for coffee in the world, asserting the coffee production used environmentally appropriate means.
In addition, it will also allow franchising so that more environmentally conscious entrepreneurs can find business opportunities.
Mr. Cescut believes that the project challenges entrepreneurs to invest in an environmentally friendly culture.
Ecoffee is slated to participate in the first Italian contest on sustainable creativity, the Ortofabbrica, from October 1 to October 3 in Gambettola in Forli-Cesena, Italy. The project was also nominated for the Green Economy Emilia Romagna Award, which is dedicated to companies promoting environmental business policies.
