Urban Brew

Our Sustainability Framework

• Emissions & Key Environmental Issues

  What is your company doing to reduce your emissions or combat key environmental issues (e.g. waste (packaging, end of life product strategy or recycling), biodiversity, land use, water, chemical use, energy use, and natural resource use etc.)?

  Our coffee suppliers are certified for sustainability (Fairtrade, Volcafe, Bcorp, ISO, rainforest, Organic). These certifications aim to promote welfare of farmed species (coffee) and long-term agricultural productivity, while also regulating the use of chemicals. Coffee beans are sourced only from sustainable sources, which prioritise biodiversity conservation. We only supply from renewably sourced ingredients and recyclable packaging material, as well as implementing recycling programs for our packaging waste. Our capsule is certified industrial compostable, and we process our capsule waste through industrial composting facilities provided through kerbside collection (SA). We also monitor our emissions and pollution under the good air quality category to adhere with EPA requirements and support government's approach towards improving our air quality. We operate through dry process which limits the use of water, utilising water-efficient fixtures and appliances, and use recycled water for outdoor irrigation. We also reuse cardboard trays as storage compartments, a process in place for the past 7 years.

• Materials

  How are the products your company offers made from environmentally friendly materials (e.g. recycled, organic materials)?

  Our packaging is made of renewable sources and recyclable packaging material, which is accepted in all recycling bins for curbside collection. Pouches are also made of renewable sources and are certified home compostable. We have shifted from oxo-degradable capsules to compostable, derived from the renewable source of plant sugars. This breaks down into CO2 and valuable compost, consisting of only biomass (organic) and water, which no longer contains any plastic hence reducing the environmental impact.

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• Community Initiatives

  How does your company give back to the community (e.g. financial donations, volunteering, partnerships etc.)?

  N/A

• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

  How has your company made a commitment to achieve and maintain inclusion & diversity (e.g. Gender / Race / Ethnicity / National Origin / Sexual Orientation / Religion / Disability / Age)?

  Many employers have realised that workplace diversity is super important and comes with bunch of benefits - I know I sure have! It has given me access to a great range of talent and provides insights into the needs of my whole customer base rather than just a small part of it. It’s important for a business to always be progressing and innovating, and this would be hard if everyone were the same and had similar thinking, this wouldn't work well for the creativity side of things! A diverse workplace will have different ways of thinking and will ensure that your customers are well served. Most importantly, it creates an awesome company culture and makes employees excited to come to work! I have made every effort to create a diverse workplace, with 50% of our staff being new arrivals or refugees. Not only that, I have hired people who may have little or no experience because I feel they would be a good fit in the company!

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• Circular Models

  How does your circular model or circular initiative work?

  Our circular model is implemented through the usage of renewable resources, minimizing waste and pollution. We use trays for packing as well as compartments in the warehouse and storage, which are reused continuously to extend their lifespan. Furthermore, we apply a closed-loop supply chain where our packaging is designed to be easily disassembled and recycled at the end of its lifecycle, materials are recycled, and redirect our used cartons to the removalist (as supposed to disposal).

• Service Offering
• Supply Chain