SUSTAINABILITY
At Stay High Coffee, we try to minimise our impact on the environment in many ways. It starts with the coffee packaging and continues with the carefully selected and imported coffee.
Our coffee bags are sourced from Dutch Coffee Pack, a company that focused on sustainability long before it was a hot topic. They were the first to create 100% plastic coffee bags without any metallization while maintaining a high oxygen barrier to keep coffee as fresh as possible. They use carbon-neutral coffee bags, invest in CO2-reducing projects in coffee growing countries and only work on projects with the Gold Standard certification, which ensure that local communities benefit the most.
Our labels are made out of polypropylene which is an environmentally conscious option that offers a wide range of benefits over other materials. It doesn’t release toxins, has a low carbon footprint and is safe for human health.
We currently source our coffees from three different green coffee companies: 88 Graines, Sucafina and Caravela.
88 Graines is a new generation green bean coffee importer. They support equal trade, sustainability and involvement of new generations in the coffee profession. 88 Graines, which means 88 seeds, is based on creating a collaborative social model in coffee sourcing between small and medium coffee producers and independent coffee roasters / roasting companies / future barista champions in order to promote the next generation of coffee producers, empowering women & families involved in coffee production and business. They aim to learn, support and achieve optimal economic and environmental sustainability not only for their coffee partners but for the whole coffee production chain.
They aim to make a difference in the lives of those who produce the things we all love: coffee. They do this by living in coffee origin countries and working directly with small and medium coffee producers. They believe that connecting farmers and workers with consumers and promoting equal trading conditions will empower farmers and workers to improve their living standards and the quality of the products they produce. They also provide support for youth to pursue coffee farming by providing guidance in coffee processing and connection to a network of people engaged in the coffee business. They improve gender equality by empowering and inspiring women in various roles within the international coffee community to raise economic productivity, improve quality, promote health and desire for the new generation to be involved in the coffee business.
At Sucafina, coffee is their sole focus. Sustainability has long been at the heart of the way Sucafina does business, which is underscored by its purpose: to play a leading role in reshaping the coffee industry by creating sustainable value for all stakeholders. Their team developed Sucafina’s 2030 sustainability strategy, which targets three key action pillars.
-Firstly, caring for people. Coffee is a people's business with a unique supply chain structure and the relationship between farmers, intermediaries, and roasters. Strong personal relationships and integrity in execution are therefore essential ingredients. They have three clear goals linked to the care and respect of people: enhance employee health & safety, well-being, and career development; respect and promote human rights; and support communities.
-Secondly, investing in farmers. Without farmers, there would be no coffee, no Sucafina, and no favourite coffee shop to visit on the way to work. Sucafina has been building a program that focuses on three broad goals, which address key sustainability challenges: build capacity to improve farmers' prosperity; increase traceability in their supply chains; and increase their proportion of responsibly sourced coffee by training farmers.
-Last of the key action pillars is protecting our planet. Coffee has a relatively low environmental footprint compared to many crops. Nevertheless, like all crops, its cultivation and production conflict with natural resource management. Sucafina has made three public commitments towards ensuring a healthier environment: conserve water resources; reduce carbon emissions; and prevent deforestation in their supply chains.
Caravela has over 200 coffee professionals spread out in 7 origin operations and 4 import offices. With an infrastructure of more than 40 purchasing stations, they offer the unique opportunity to access an unparalleled range of specialty coffees, building long-term relationships with farmers and ensuring a consistent product from year-to-year, as well as a genuine lasting impact for their businesses.
Their quality standards are second-to-none in the coffee industry, which allows them to guarantee their roaster partners a consistently tasting coffee that maintains its quality until the last bean is roasted. From analysing physical bean defects to measuring moisture content and water activity of every single lot, to performing at least 5 different quality controls before the coffee is exported, you can be 100% sure that when we roast coffee from Caravela, you will never be disappointed. They make sure that we source and purchase only the best coffee for you and that coffee farmers are following sustainable production standards.
They have a highly skilled team of over 40 agronomists who continuously educate producers and their families on best practices to increase productivity and improve quality so that they can be more profitable. They have invested thousands of dollars in their own IT system that allows them to provide us with 100% traceability down to every kilo of coffee that we buy – no matter how large the lot. Long-term relationships with roasters provide income security for coffee producers and product consistency from year to year for roasters. Price transparency and feedback help farmers understand the value of their coffee in the marketplace.
We are always open to new ideas and curious about all things sustainability. If you think we are missing something, feel free to contact us! :)