Matthew Algie, which last year marked its 160th anniversary, supplies coffee, machines, equipment and training to thousands of organisations throughout the UK and Ireland across industries including hospitality, education and the public sector.
The Scottish coffee roaster has made the move as part of its plan to achieve Net Zero by 2040. As is the case for most coffee producers, supply chain emissions account for more than 90% of Matthew Algie’s carbon footprint.
The two-year exploratory £50,000 project, which is in collaboration with civil society organisation Solidaridad, is a partnership with coffee farmers on the ground in the coffee producing Central American nation aimed at introducing measures that will reduce emissions and the environmental impact of their operations.
Amy Oroko, sustainability manager at Matthew Algie, said: “We are studying the impact of the measures we introduce, and the support required, and from there we will be able to formulate plans that will enable other cooperatives in Honduras and other coffee supplying nations to make their operations more sustainable.
“Working with our suppliers to accurately measure our supply chain carbon emissions is a key first step in this journey because it will allow us, and them, to move away from estimates and get a better idea of the emissions hotspots that need to be addressed.
“Helping our suppliers become more sustainable is one of the top priorities on our sustainability agenda, but we haven’t yet had the data to analyse what steps will be effective in delivering it. We are still in the early stages, but our findings so far are encouraging.”
Matthew Algie is also on target to hit a number of sustainability goals by 2025:
- The team is on track to reduce food waste by 50%
- Have 20% recyclable coffee packaging
- Have 10% of the fleet as electric vehicles with electric vehicle charging provision
- See a 10% decrease in car and van miles
- Make sure 90% of coffee produced has at least one certification and have all staff trained in environmental issues.
To find out more about Matthew Algie’s work on sustainability, visit: matthewalgie.com/sustainability/.