The small business culture of the independent coffee shop lends itself to green practices. The most obvious green practices in the coffee business are organic and fair trade products, but there are many more ways that a small business can be green while selling coffee.
I run a coffee shop in the southern reaches of the Mojave Desert and decided from the start to pursue green practices as a way of doing business. Even a very small business like mine goes through quite a lot of product, from paper cups to plastic spoons. And the lights are always on because we are open over 14 hours a day year-round.
Cumulatively, you can see that the practices a business chooses to follow will add up to a significantly more or less ecologically friendly impact.
The options for being ecologically friendly in a business context are many and there are many green practices that my small business does not employ and some that we haven’t heard of yet. In my small business, however, we do make an effort to follow these green practices.
Lights and Lighting
One of the most common green practices for homes and small businesses is in lighting. In my small business, we try to conserve energy with the lights in three ways.
First, we use energy smart light bulbs in every fixture that is compatible with these green bulbs. Second, we have a bank of lights that are turned off in the middle of the day, saving electricity for at least a few hours every day. And finally, our outdoor lights are connected to a solar trigger so that they only turn on at night and then turn off automatically in the morning.
These strategies with the lights are an easy green practice to follow for any small business, regardless of what kind of commerce you undertake.
Coffee Specific Green Practices: Cups, Lids, Straws, etc.
Beyond issues of organic coffee beans and teas, there is the issue of how the cups, lids, coffee sleeves, and utensils are made. Even paper cups use plastic to line the inside of the cup as a seal. That plastic is commonly made from petroleum based products, but there are companies that have found ways to produce more ecologically friendly linings, sometimes using corn plastic.
Perhaps the most impactful green practice in my small business is the choice we make to use green or eco-friendly cups. Companies like Eco Products and even Solo offer green product lines for coffee shops with every thing from corn plastic cups for cold drinks and straws to plastic spoons and forks made from recycled materials.
Choosing these green products is clearly a mode of green business practice, but it is not usually also a choice for the most cost effective products. But, again, even very small businesses like coffee shops and juice bars go through hundreds of cups every month. There is an environmental cost to be considered.
When you are running a business and you need to make money to stay open, choosing to follow green practices is not always easy. Using less energy is an obvious decision if it’s possible and small businesses should look for ways to cut electricity and water use. That will lower your business’s bills every month.
Speaking for myself, I plan to continue choosing the slightly greater expense of ecologically friendly cups products to use for serving coffee and tea and pastries. There may not be a ledger keeping track of my businesses positive choices and green practices, but in a long-term way, the earth itself is keeping track and that’s enough for me.