For the past three years, Sustainability Is Sexy has been wildly successful in it’s mission to promote eco-friendly coffee drinking. I’m personally proud of many achievements that dot it’s history, yet none of them are brighter than an event that occurred a few weeks ago. This past May, I married my long time sweetheart and found true happiness. Winston Churchill once stated that “my most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me”; and today I share the same deference for my own future.
My brand new wife and I are honeymooning abroad until August. Until then, blog posts will continue — albeit with new flavor. We’re traveling through SE Asia, and this new environment has many lessons in sustainability. I’ll share what I see.
Lastly, Sustainability Is Sexy cups are currently out of stock, and won’t be available until sometime after I return state side.
Define sustainability. What would it be? Since the term broke the mainstream barrier, it’s become the go-to term for marketing executives, the rally cry for environmentalists and an expletive for conservative politicians. When sustainability embodies such a multitude of meanings, how can the concept guide us toward better solutions?
In 2009, a book titled “Strategy for Sustainability – A Business Manifesto” was published by Harvard Business Press. In it, author Adam Werbachspends pages defining sustainability. To Werbach, sustainability isn’t about just environmentalism or human rights or local economies; it’s about perpetually balancing all pressures equally (I think he’s right). To steal an example from the book, let’s talk carbon emissions:
A green strategy to reduce carbon emissions could be making gasoline very expensive, and thus limiting CO2 emissions from cars. If a fill up cost $10 a gallon, we’d likely see fewer drivers on the road. But this plan has negative consequences; millions of people couldn’t afford to go to work anymore, economies would struggle with added expenses, and it would disproportionately affect the poor. In the end, the strategy isn’t sustainable.
Contrast that idea with developing renewable energy which is cheaper than coal and gasoline. Doing so would also lower carbon emissions. The plan would also lower business costs, increase the quality of life for millions, and lay the ground work for future innovations. That’s sustainable.
Sustainability Is Sexy has taken this same way of thinking to the coffee cup world, and it’s worked. But could this same way of finding a solution work elsewhere?
A follower recently shared an article with me called “Please Kill the Paper Receipt”. The article outlines the waste and environmental impact of the habit we all have. Paper receipts consume a lot of natural resources like trees, require petroleum, and emit carbon. But is killing the receipt a sustainable solution? I don’t think so. Receipts are integrated into daily life. Businesses rely on them for transactions, like returned merchandise, and the IRS requires receipts for taxes. A lot of people still rely on receipts as a tangible form of economic protection against fraud (think of your Aunt with the stuffed filing cabinet and label maker). Even though paper receipts may have an environmental cost, they also have social, cultural, and economic benefits. None of these benefits are deal breakers when it comes to a solution for paper receipts, but they do need to be considered. Whatever solution replaces the paper receipt will have to take all those perspectives into account to be sustainable.
Participate in a quick poll and share your thoughts on paper receipts hosted over at Don Forne’s Retail Software Website. And for those passionate about morphing sustainability from a concept into action, do check out Strategy for Sustainability. It’s highly recommended from our corner.
Our compostable-reusable coffee cups have just landed in a new Seattle shop! Not A Number, located just east of the University District on 45th Street in Wallingford (the ‘hood that could), recently began stocking their shelves with our coffee cups. The store is an amalgamation of environmental goodies, political schwag, and gifts and toys that’ll blow your mind. Think a sliver of Spencer’s Gifts, a dash of Politics R Us, and 100% Seattle soul.
Not A Number is run by Jon and Kara; who I first met at the Seattle Green Festival in 2008. These two have been a support to the Seattle community since first opening their doors five years ago. The store has hosted veterans’ events, local candidate forums, and book readings by progressive authors. Countless local artists and small businesses (like us!) have found a home for their passion on the shelves of Not A Number.
Stop by Not A Number for one of our very green and very sexy coffee cups. If you want a cup but cannot trek to Wallingford for your 16 ounces of eco-friendliness, order one online!Our webstore hosts several different coffee cups, and a collection of T-shirts. Find it here at: www.SustainabilityIsSexy.com
Coffee Cup Snap Shot
Worry no more about the effects of petroleum and plastic coming from standard cups. This reusable-compostable cup is made using 100% US grown corn. The lid is a flexible rubber, certified safe by the FDA.
College campuses and universities breed innovation. The Kent State shootings transformed the 1960s war protests into a cultural revolution. Blogging and social networking first burgeoned from a University of Washington dorm room. Today’s headline touting business ideas — from Facebook to Google– all have roots in one college environment or another. But what will tomorrow’s innovations look like?
In a word: sustainability.It’s an axiom that’s percolating on college campuses across the nation, and producing impressive results.Campus Ecology, a program run by the National Wildlife Federation, has published a collection of case studies which should provide a good answer.Titled “Generation E – Students Leading for a Sustainable, Clean Future” the periodical is an amalgamation of 35 innovative student projects working toward sustainability.This is no simple society of mutual admiration, and featured projects are much more robust than basic recycling programs.
From funding strategies to media tools, 15 eclectic areas are highlighted throughout the guide. Each area is supported with several successful case studies.Sustainability Is Sexy’s goal to evolve coffee drinking habits was cited (page 16 in the guide) as a successful study in behavioral change.A Brown University group named Community Carbon Use Reduction at Brown (CCURB) developed a community action initiative to install programmable thermostats in low-income homes, resulting in financial and environmental savings. Tulane University showcased energy conservation through its “Energy Star Showcase Dorm Room” — the dormitory version of a model home.The dorm appliances and electronics used cut costs and CO2 output by 50%.The program engaged incoming students as well.The model dorm room is assigned to students evaluated through a highly competitive essay contest.
Generation E is a phenomenal grouping of battle-tested sustainability programs.Certainly, the publication can provide aspiring students a strong framework for capturing environmental benefits on their own campuses.University administrators can benefit too.Many of the sustainability programs in the guide can be adapted to suit the strengths and weaknesses of a formal department.(Sustainability Is Sexy campaigns have done this already.Our university programs have been aligned to better fit with administrative goals).A guide such as Generation E can be a powerful tool for students and campus administrators looking for opportunity.
Peter Pan in a Boardroom
Opportunity isn’t only knocking on academia’s door.Indeed, shrewd business leaders and potential investors may wish to read Generation E as a foretelling glimpse to tomorrow’s money makers.Today’s students are testing out programs which are efficient, sustainable, and groundbreaking. And this ingenuity and drive doesn’t die off after graduation. A colleague who works with this generation’s unique culture drafted a recent article noting this generational anomaly:
Through constant Internet access and enrichment opportunities, this generation is very well aware of world troubles from economic challenges to environment ones. They passionately want to help. They want to “do good” in addition to “doing well.” A conversation with the head of an MBA program confirmed that in the past few years more of their program’s students wanted to work for not-for-profits than ever before.
This is a new culture, holding onto youthful idealism and willing to sacrifice lavish salaries in the name of “doing good”.Yet the technological innovations embedded in sustainability-driven projects mean they may not have to. Programs like those in Generation E are certainly benevolent from a cultural, social, and environmental perspective.But they’re also financially prudent. This combination of a combined technological and cultural revolution just may produce a passionate workforce and groundbreaking innovations.What more could we want?
Photo Credit:
Left: Photo by Derek Downey.Center: Photo by Janet Paladino.Right: Photo by Northland College.
All images originally appeared on the cover of NWF’s Generation E – Students Leading for a Sustainable Clean Energy Future.November 18, 2009.
A few weeks ago, Canada’s Evolution 107.9 radio station featured Sustainability Is Sexy on a short feature called Our Planet Earth. The station let us run with the script – our conversation jumped from the environment, to coffee cups, to what makes sustainability so sublimely sexy.It’s a great clip.
Besides being entertaining, this radio show was personally inspiring.Interviews like this one help revive the roots of our group, and remind us why our campaigns are so effective.It’s easy to run a program to promote reusable coffee cups, but it’s much more difficult to host one that’s successful and achieves a real impact.Simply put, boring campaigns with underwhelming messages and banal tactics just don’t work.
Earlier this week, I spent some time trading emails with a student group who was interested in promoting reusable coffee cups on their campus, and they landed on the same thoughts I was having throughout the radio show:
“We don’t just want to use posters or invite speakers - IT IS BORING.We want people to join us and have fun, we’d like to talk to people and help them understand their impact on the environment and their responsibility.”
Now I think posters and speakers can be great – but it has to be the right posters and the right speakers.After all, plenty of bands still use posters and speakers to fill concert venues.Encouraging coffee drinkers to practice eco-friendly habits can only be done with engaging, exciting ideas that exhibit raw energy – just like a good rock and roll band would do.
This March, Seattle Public Utilities quietly rolled out an updated city-wide recycling plan with the type of efficiency critics rarely expect from government.Billed as “Better Recycling”, the changes appease the vocal crescendo of recycle-maniacs who have been pushing for broader recycling options for years - and the top dogs in city hall who have set ambitious recycling goals.
The “better recycling” moniker is ambiguous, but the city has covered its bases.Everything from more pick-up days, to job security, to recycling accessibility is resulting from the program. But perhaps most interesting for us coffee-lovers is this: paper coffee cups are now recyclable.There are a few caveats; cups that are too dirty might still be sorted for the landfill, and foam covered cups don’t make the grade.Nonetheless, this rocked our world at SIS.New recycling options have the potential to alleviate tons of residential and commercial waste, and advocacy groups (us included) can heave a sigh of relief knowing the city can “walk the walk”.So does this mean we can close the books on the coffee cup issue? Or would a celebratory Irish coffee be premature?
Blue Skies for Eco-Coffee Drinkers
Seattle’s recycling progress should put smiles on java drinkers throughout the world’s coffee capital.The new coffee cup rule makes recycling more convenient and accessible.Seattleites seem prone to recycle on instinct, so tossing a cup into the right bin shouldn’t be a hard habit to change.And public recycling receptacles are already abundant throughout most of the metro area.It’s too early to predict any impact in quantitative terms, but past successes in Seattle are promising.In the first year of the big composting push, Seattleites remembered to toss 80,000 tons of food and yard waste into their compost bins.The common paper cup could very well be the summer-blockbuster sequel.
Of course, municipal reinforcements are always welcomed by environmental non-profits and advocacy groups.Recycling centers which can handle the complex materials of a disposable coffee cup come with a big price tag.Amidst tight budgets and a shaky economy, it’s fortunate that the upgrade wasn’t axed.
The new rules could have a big impact on long-term plans for eco-regulations too.It’s tough to enforce recycling when options are limited.But now that the city has stepped up to the plate, it’ll be possible to coerce those who create excessive trash to change their habitsAnd if the city is to hit its goal of diverting 60% of its waste to recycling and composting, this may happen soon.
Prevalient Clouds Still Abound
Despite the many benefits, environmentalists should be cautious not to succumb to hubris.As far as waste solutions go, broad recycling is a proven weapon.But conservationists cringe when “recycling” becomes the default solution to municipal environmental issues. Sure, disposable paper cups create landfill waste, and that’s not good. But what about trees, water, energy, petroleum, and other scarce resources gobbled up by cup production?Because of the extra resources consumed in the pick-up and recycling process, disposable coffee cups being recycled can claim evenmore energy than before!Unless new recycling trucks and sorting centers run on alternative energy, ecoists miss a flawless victory.
This solution also neglects to conserve one important resource in particular – money.Recycling, although eco-friendly and popular, does come with a cost.The city has to pay for the state-of-the-art recycling center, businesses must pay for recycling services, and coffee houses still have to pay for their disposable cups.A recent Wall Street Journal article cited a coffee shop owner in Pennsylvania who lost 40 cents per cup in costs. Comparably, promoting reusable coffee cups as a solution saves money for everyone.When it comes to a solution that’s friendly to both the financial and environmental bottom lines, recycling may take second place.
Could Seattle’s programs and commitment to recycling serve as the paragon for other municipalities?It would be an environmentalists dream to see every town and city embrace recycling like Seattle, but the reality is less rosy.Retrofitting a typical recycling center to process disposable coffee cups is costly and out of reach for most cities.And even though Seattle pushed these new recycling investments through the budget process, other municipalities may not be so lucky.I recently visited Lawrence, Kansas to speak with a campus group advocating for glass recycling in bars.The biggest obstacle they face is that glass recycling isn’t yet available.Chances are, spending money to recycle coffee cups is low on their priority list.
Even within the coffee capital, the new recycling solution misses a few targets.Broad recycling may be available, but there’s no guarantee that landlords will provide such amenities to commercial tenants.As Jim Hanna, Environmental Director for Starbucks pointed out in an SIS interview last year:
“Here in Seattle, where commercial recycling is generally available, we [Starbucks] often lease our store spaces from landlords; which may or may not provide us with recycling options… it’s important to understand that setting up recycling is subject to a lot more variables than just putting some bins out front.”
It isn’t just the torpor landlords putting up obstacles. Large Seattle institutions like the University of Washington find themselves left out of the celebratory recycling hubbub. An article titled “New City Recycling Program Not Instituted at UW” notes that contracts with disparate waste management companies are the root cause of UW evading the new rules.This quirky irregularity takes a more serious tone when it’s realized the campus burns through 5000 disposable cups a day.
So…what about that Irish coffee?
Bottom line, this is a major achievement for environmental movers, the city of Seattle, and coffee lovers.New recycling rules will undoubtedly lessen the amount of garbage from disposable drink containers.But only the most credulous of coffee drinkers should believe that the new regulations will close the case on paper cup’s environmental footprint.Conservation takes a back seat when recycling is driving progress, which does no good in protecting our natural resources.
Ultimately, it’s still the responsibility of coffee drinkers and the coffee business to actually do something about paper cups.Whether that means putting in the elbow grease to institute recycling or promoting and using reusable coffee cups, the city government can only do so much.
Poster used in Portland, Maine Reusable Cup Campaign. April 2009.
Coast-to-coast distances be damned! The Maine Potters Market, O’Naturals restaurant and Morning in Paris coffee shop, are partnering with Sustainability is Sexy to promote reusable coffee cups in Portland, Maine. MaineToday.com has a great write up online of the ongoing campaign:
“Wednesday, April 22, 2009, is both Earth Day and Administrative Assistants Day. To honor these holidays, the Maine Potters Market will be promoting the use of ceramic, reusable cups by offering coupons for $5 off any mug in our store during the whole month of April. Break the disposable cup habit and reward yourself with a free cup of coffee when you bring your own mug to Morning In Paris Coffee House, April 12-18, and O’Naturals Restaurant, April 19-25. Thanks to these local businesses you can do your part to celebrate Earth Day. Go to www.SustainabilityIsSexy.com for more information on the environmental impact of using disposable cups.”
For Sustainability Is Sexy, this campaign first began back in March. Susan of Ash Cove Pottery, (a participant in the Maine Potters Market Co-op), contacted us seeking thoughts on promoting reusable coffee cups. As the project instigator, Susan already had some serious opinions regarding reusable cups. “As a potter, it’s [reusable coffee cups are] a no-brainer.”
As a coffee lover, its a no brainer for us too. If you’re a coffee house, business, or community interested in promoting reusable coffee cups, then Sustainability Is Sexy can help. Our all-encompassing campaigns are designed by young adults immersed in the coffee culture and well-research. Smart and sexy - we’re the perfect storm when it comes to eco-campaigns. Track us down for more info at SustainabilityIsSexy.com
And for those enjoying the beautiful sights in Portland, Maine - don’t forget to stop and smell the coffee in Old Port. Happy Earth Week!
For close to two years, this group has been declaring that sustainability is sexy. Unfortunately, our website was not. With Earth Day is just around the corner, our team decided some serious house cleaning was in order. The end result? A 3 minute video titled “What’s So Great About Reusable Coffee Cups?“.
Besides the new powerpoint show, our online store has been updated as well. We finally caught up to 1999 and added a shopping cart system, so cups can be ordered online. FYI, all shipping fees, taxes, and other nickle ‘n dime charges are included in the listed price. If you’re looking for an eco-friendly, well made, and sustainably sexy coffee cup - then we have it!
A Quick Note: Last week I was invited to be a guest speaker during an Earth Day event hosted by a group of students at the University of Kansas. The group - Students for Bar Recycling - is making some amazing progress on instituting a serious recycling program in their city. I’m still putting my notes and thoughts together, but a re-cap will be coming shortly.
“When I told my career counselor that I liked to travel, this is not what I had in mind”.Three hours into a business conference, and I was already tapping my heels to go home.I’d flown the red-eye the night before, had woken to a generic continental breakfast with generic coffee, and was now watching a generic powerpoint presentation.Living out of a suitcase is no picnic, as any business traveler will tell you.
To me, even more offending than the verbose speaker were the bad environmental habits on display.Disposable coffee cups, disposable water bottles, disposable lunches – throw-away conveniences flourish in the conference environment.I have a hunch that some of the discomfort felt by conference-goers tends to be caused bad environmental habits.It’s no secret that coffee is more enjoyable from a durable mug than from a paper one.Talk About Coffee published a thorough articlea year ago, detailing how paper cups can negatively affect the taste of coffee.The basic gist is that pieces of the disposable cup disintegrate into the coffee and contaminate the flavor.Also, disposable cups don’t hold heat.
Even more recently, a psychology study from Sheffield University in the UK concluded that coffee (and tea) tastes better when enjoyed from a favorite cup.
My own theory on the correlation between bad eco-habits and poorly received business conferences is cultural.Most of us grow up learning the importance of hosting a party properly.We clean up the house before guests arrive, we serve cold drinks, and we break out the good china when important people drop by.
When a host ushers conference-goers to a coffee table with cheap throw-away cups, attendees are reminded that their comfort isn’t actually all that important.
There are exceptions.At a recent one day conference in California, my conference hosts took subtle measures to boost conference-goes mood.Immediately noticeable were the coffee cups.At this conference, ceramic coffee mugs had replaced the ubiquitous paper cups commonly used.The same was true for other foods and drinks.Pitchers and cups replaced plastic water bottles; a serving pitcher replaced individual coffee creamers; sugar came in a dish instead of in little packets.
Given my thoughts on reusable coffee cups, I felt like cart wheeling down the halls in excitement.But it wasn’t just the eco-obsessive who seemed to enjoy the change.Everyone in the room seemed to feel more comfortable and at ease.As an audience, we seemed more eager to participate in discussions, ask questions, and work in groups when asked.The conference hosts benefitted too.Every conference photo that was taken, tweeted, or posted to a blog showed conference attendees holding coffee cups branded with the host company’s logo.
Planning a conference?Why not treat your attendees well, and nix the disposable materials.You’ll do a small part for the environment, and your attendees will thank you.
My father once explained to me why the Grateful Dead was so successful. “The Dead would take their money and pump it right back into their shows. When other bands were comfortable with house sound systems, the Grateful Dead spent a fortune developing a monstrous Wall of Sound that could be heard from a quarter mile away. Phil Lesh’s bass lines were so deep and loud that you didn’t just hear them - you felt them. The Grateful Dead weren’t selfish, they never focused solely on profit, and they cared about their fans and the music community. That’s why Deadheads are so loyal”.
Businesses often talk about customer loyalty. Yet it’s rare for a business to see the type of loyalty that was developed by the Dead. Pepsi-heads? McDonaldites? I think not.
However, some progressive organizations are beginning to take lessons from the jam band, and it’s beginning to show. Peace Coffee, a Minnesota based coffee company, is growing at an annual rate of 20%. This is a great rate during good times… but an absolute miracle considering today’s financial environment. For perspective, China’s growth rate in 2008 was around 10%. Starbucks saw annual growth rates of 27% during the dot-com decade. How is Peace Coffee able to seem unaffected by the financial storm in which we find ourselves? It’s hard to say without being the company accountant, but I have a hunch it’s from a business philosophy that considers a triple bottom line.
The term “triple bottom line” was coined in 1994, but the idea is older than that. Conceptually, a triple bottom line refers to a business practice of measuring and basing decisions on financial performance, ecological impact from company operations, and social effects on workers and their communities. At its reduction, the triple bottom line means caring about people, planet, and profit.
Peace Coffee applies the triple bottom line theory throughout a multitude of business aspects. Regional deliveries are done through bio-diesel vans or by bicycle. The coffee beans are grown by small coffee farmers and cooperatives and certified as fair trade. Peace Coffee’s recently installed coffee roaster is also equipped with a catalytic oxidizer - which burns away hydrocarbons to limit emissions. And these are just the tip of the iceberg. A full enumeration can be found at the Peace Coffee website, here.
The idealists in all of us love stories such as these. But the selfish cynics in the back of our minds are wondering “What’s in it for the business?”. Of course, the immediate effect of Peace Coffee’s triple bottom line will be beneficial to its surrounding environment and communities. The benefits even spread to small fair trade farmers and help pump money into eco-sound businesses, such as bio diesel companies. But the practice also develops long-lasting customer loyalty and relationships. Today’s customers are demanding that businesses be more personal, and more socially and environmentally conscious. Every time Peace Coffee delivers a product by bicycle, their meeting that specific consumer demand. And just like the Grateful Dead, Peace Coffee is cultivating a community and developing a loyalty that can weather a financial storm.
Of course, the pendulum can swing both ways. Metallica, the guitar-slinging antithesis to the Grateful Dead - learned this lesson a decade ago. Metal-heads all remember when Metallica prioritized profits over its fans by suing Napster for enabling music piracy in 2000. The legal action created an exodus of hard rock fans, some of whom had been fanatically loyal since the band’s early days. Years later, people are still bitter and CD sales have never recovered. In 2007, Metallica was named #17 on Blender’s list of “biggest wusses in rock”, citing its lawsuit against Napster. And the 1990’s remain Metallica’s glory decade, with the band’s 2003 release selling only 2 million copies (compared with 14 million for 1991’s “Black Album”).
“Selling Out” can hit business just as bluntly as a hard rock band. Nike’s choice to prioritize profits over social responsibilities by using sweatshop labor caused an uproar in 1997 among consumers. Social justice groups sprang up to protest Nike and demand boycotts. Even my alma mater experienced protests and many student groups demanded that the university athletic programs refrain from outfitting teams with Nike products. The negative publicity was a nightmare for Nike’s PR department, and the company’s reputation has remained stained ever since.
In the end, it truly depends on consumer demands. Consumers are evolving. We’re placing demands to businesses that are more complex than “cheaper and better”. Customers have become more engaged in many aspects of business. We want to see Company Social Responsibility Reports, we want to know carbon footprints, and we want to know that our money isn’t having a negative impact somewhere in the world. So do the other bottom lines truly count in the business world? For Peace Coffee and others, the answer should be a deafening YES.
Peace Coffee riders stay sustainable with reusable coffee mugs
Sustainability Is Sexy Plug:
Our online store is once again having a discount sale. Order any T-shirt, tank top, or canvas grocery bag by February 11th and receive a 14% discount. If you’re looking for a Sustainability Is Sexy reusable coffee mug, email support@sustainabilityissexy.com.
The Basics:
There are exceptions.
Peace Coffee applies the triple bottom line theory throughout a multitude of business aspects. Regional deliveries are done through bio-diesel vans or by bicycle. The coffee beans are grown by small coffee farmers and cooperatives and certified as fair trade. Peace Coffee’s recently installed coffee roaster is also equipped with a 
“Selling Out” can hit business just as bluntly as a hard rock band. Nike’s choice to prioritize profits over social responsibilities by using sweatshop labor caused an uproar in 1997 among consumers. Social justice groups sprang up to protest Nike and demand boycotts. Even my alma mater experienced protests and many student groups demanded that the university athletic programs refrain from outfitting teams with Nike products. The negative publicity was a nightmare for Nike’s PR department, and the company’s reputation has remained stained ever since.
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