The Swan Flew Over the Coffee Shop

Aðalheiður Héðinsdóttir

• Kaffitár was founded in 1990• Started out as a micro-roastery with 20 kg

Samiac roaster• Today: 8 coffee shops, 2 roasters, around 150

employees• We import specialty coffee from all over the

world and roast 250.000 kg last year.• Opened a bakery/café in Kópavogur 2013

Thinking about the environment

• From the beginning we have sorted and recycled our waste

• Started the „Green Bean“ project in 2008. The aim was to increase waste sorting and to write an environmental policy for Kaffitár.

Our Green Bean logo

Thinking about the environment

• 2009 – applied for the Nordic Eco label, the Swan, certification

• In May 2010 our 8 coffee shops and our kitchen received the certification

• 2012 we started using SCAA, START sustainability tool, to improve our green bookkeeping.

What is The Swan?

• A swan is a bird• But The Swan is the logo for the Nordic Eco label• Type 1, third party certified Eco label – cream of the crops• Strict criteria you need to follow• A specialist visits every yearto review the operations and renew the certification

START – sustainability tool• Created by the SCAA specifically for the coffee industry• More applicable to the coffee industry than the Swan • Asks coffee related questions whereas the Swan

only has a general restaurant criteria• But not third party certified• Helps with our green book-keeping quite a lot

START – sustainability tool• 2011 donated Kaffitár $ 15.720 to charity in form of

coffee or goods. That is 178,6 $ per full time employee witch were 88.

• 2012 donated Kaffitár $ 15.699 or 163,5 $ per employee witch were 96.

The journey towards the Swan

• Many bigger and smaller changes in the day-to-day running of the coffee shops

• Most noticeable to customers: No paper cups for coffee inside the coffee shops – only for take-away

• Before waste was sorted into 3 categories. Now they are 8:– Plastic, cardboard, paper, cartons, metal, organic,

bottles & cans and general waste

Influence on baristas

• Two main effects1. Staff was happy to take part and were proud of

the changes being made. People want to do something for the grater good.

2. Staff was put into difficult situations having to answer for changes, especially regarding paper cups– Still today, three years later, baristas have to answer

upset customers who want to sit with their paper cups inside the coffee shop

Visible results – paper cups

2009 2010 2011 20120

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Amount of paper cups (kg)

How it could have been (kg)

Recycling

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% of total waste 2012

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Chemical cleaning products

• In 2011 we used 2,66 ml of cleaning products per guest in the coffee houses

• In 2012 we used 2,46 ml per guest– 8% reduction between years

Scrubber

• 2011 In stead of an afterburner that the health authorities required we got Boyd Guildner to install a Scrubber.

• Using cold water to wash the smoke in stead of burning fossil fuel

Numbers from START: CO2 emissions

• 2011: 0.14 kg of CO2 per guest• 2012: 0.15 kg of CO2 per guest

Numbers from START: Certified coffee

Certified organic cof-fee

Rainforest Alliance certified coffee

UTZ certified coffee Relationship/direct trade coffee

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Is it worth it to be certified?

• Being certified costs money; annual fee for the certification.

• Time spent on collecting data and making of the annual report.

• However, we also safe money by being certified.– Less expenses in:

• Waste disposal • Electricity-, fuel-, cleaning chemicals- and water use• Paper cups and other single-use items purchase

Is it worth it to be certified

• Furthermore we gain– A stronger market position– A overview of all our operation cost and

performance.• And– We are doing our best for the environment and to

improve the quality of life for future generations

Yes, we think it‘s worth it

Thank you

Aðalheiður HéðinsdóttirKristín Þóra Jökulsdóttir