Social and environmental issues are important to consumers, with a growing expectation and demand that business makes a positive impact beyond economics. In consultancy firm FleishmanHillard Fishburn’s 2019 Authenticity Gap study into consumer attitudes towards CSR, 59% of consumers said they expect companies to make a stand on social, climate and environmental issues.

At Lavazza Professional UK, we’re committed to conducting business in an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable way. Our goals encapsulate every aspect of our products’ journeys, from origin to consumption and all the people they touch on the way.

Our Commitment and Goals

Sustainable Agriculture

To ensure we provide quality products that deliver on every level, we must help secure the future of people in our supply chain and beyond. This future means improving lives, communities and encouraging the use of environmentally friendly practices, and buying raw materials from traceable and sustainable sources.

To be achieved through:

• 100% third-party certified coffee beans, cocoa and black tea leaves for own-brand products, plus sustainable sourcing guidelines for licensed brands. Currently, 100% of our coffee and tea and 92% cocoa comes from certified sources. Goal by end-2020 is 100% for all three.
• Supply chain mapping for priority raw materials.
• Collaboration with NGOs and businesses to rally resources.
• 100% of customers educated about our sustainable work.

Sustainable Operations

Driven by the expectations of people in the modern workplace who increasingly expect us to operate sustainably, we continually work to reduce energy, water use and waste. By end-2020 we aim to:

• Achieve 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
• Hit 15% reduction in water intensity.
• Maintain ‘zero waste to landfill’.

Sustainable Solutions

We consider sustainability at every step by designing resource and energy-efficient solutions. We work with suppliers to use lower-impact materials and manufacturing processes, ensuring our products have simple end-of-life solutions.

Our number one priority is to solve the waste challenge presented by drinks packaging and technology. 2020 targets:

• Maintain technologies recycling program.
• Source and design packaging to reduce carbon footprint by 25%.
• 100% of workplace customers (US, UK and Germany) to have sustainable end-of-life solutions.

Making a Difference

Suppliers

We promote sustainable agriculture within rural coffee and tea-farming communities globally. Our internal Ambassadors work with World Coffee Research and the Ethical Tea Partnership to support farming communities and the breeding of sustainable crops.

Our work includes teaching farmers about more robust farming practices, including growing their own crops, other than tea, to enable them to better feed their communities. The programme also introduced the concept of a community fund, where all individuals paid a small amount into a community ‘pot’ that can be donated to villagers when needed, to better enhance their wellbeing.

Local

Lavazza Community Engagement is a local area activity programme aimed at improving the social, cultural and environmental context of local communities. In order to succeed, Lavazza Professional UK puts in place cooperative relationships with the communities of the areas in which it operates.

In 2019, our associates helped refurbish a homeless support centre, volunteered at an animal shelter, served hot drinks at charity events, did yard work at a farm for disabled children, washed cars, raised funds, baked cakes, helped at a local food bank and even sang karaoke all in the name of charity.

We also looked after our furry friends. Rufus at the National Animal Welfare Trust loves playing on the exercise ramp we donated, which is made of recycled plastic!

Reducing business waste

Our company is committed to reducing plastic waste, landfill waste and carbon emissions. Our Basingstoke site is ‘zero waste to landfill’ certified – which is exactly as stated; no manufacturing waste is sent to landfill. Waste is either fully recycled or converted into energy via incineration plants that utilise the energy produced by burning it.

Some examples of how waste is re-purposed/recycled include:

• Older vending machines being broken down for parts and upcycled – no parts go to landfill. Unusable parts harvested and passed to 3rd parties who can utilise.
• Cardboard/paper waste recycling.
• Flatpack boxes and other packaging returned to suppliers for re-use.
• Food wastes (milk powder, old tea/coffee residue) converted into animal feed.
• Wooden pallets upcycled into office furniture/fixtures.
• 3rd parties being vetted to ensure no waste passed to them goes to landfill.
• The ‘waste to energy’ conversion plant being in Basingstoke, so not only is the carbon footprint of transporting waste minimal, but the energy can be reused locally.

The Solution to Plastic

At Lavazza Professional UK, we understand that consumers want better solutions and better choices; it’s our responsibility as a business to make suitable options available.

Leading the field, in 2020, we launched the market’s first sustainable solution for vending machine cups. The KLIX Eco Cup™ is a vending machine solution made predominantly from paper. The cup is recyclable with normal paper waste, made of biodegradable materials, and sustainable with material sourced from renewable PEFC™ (The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) sourced paper.

Compared to a standard cup used in a vending machine that would end up in landfill, a study conducted by WSP shows that switching to KLIX Eco Cup™ can lead to a reduction in environmental footprint of over 63%.

The replacement of our standard plastic-based cups, which only started this year, will be an ongoing phased approach. However, this is not going to be a slow process, as nearly 90% of drinks will be KLIX Eco Cup™ by the end-2020 and 100% by the end-2021.

Measurable Impact

Community and Environmental Impact

• Supported and developed over 600,000 tea farmers’ livelihoods.
• Planted 269,828 trees.
• Invested over $3.6m in Kenyan communities.
• Supplied the labour/materials to completely re-build the community tea hangar in Rwanda, which was facing closure.
• Ambassadors independently raised £4500 to buy 18 dairy cows for Rwandan farmers.
• Clean running water provided for an orphanage in El Salvador.
• As of the end-2018, we achieved an 89% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions versus our end-2020 target of 80% reduction.
• ‘Zero waste to landfill’ at Basingstoke production site:

o 63% waste recycled.

o 37% used for waste to put energy back into the national grid.

• All our vending machines now refurbished, reused or recycled.
• 80% non-coffee purchases from local suppliers.
• Reduction in energy usage across 67 factories in Kenya – saving 10,592,235kwh.
• 4144.23kg of Co2 emissions saved thanks to Corporate Carpooling.
• All factory assets upgraded, and LED lighting fitted on all sites.
• We are 9001 Quality Certified, OHAS 18001 and ISO 14001 approved and a member of WEEE producer compliance scheme.

The global responsibilities that the above goals give rise to outweigh the mere economic interests, leading the way to a more ethical and sustainable world.