A Sustainable Future, One Cup At A Time

In many ways, coffee has become a necessity in our daily lives. The smell, the taste, the warmth of the mug in your hands and the feeling you get when you take that first sip in the morning all contribute to the enjoyment of coffee.

If you’re a regular coffee drinker, you’ve probably heard of Nespresso and George Clooney’s voice saying “What else” is probably living rent-free in your head. Clooney has long been a coffee enthusiast, being first drawn to the brand because of its commitment to quality and sustainability.

However, with millions of people starting their day with a Nespresso coffee made with a single-use cup, the issue of sustainability arises. Thankfully, the company has made significant efforts to make what’s on the inside of the cup feel as good as what’s on the outside.

Nespresso is a B Corporation, meaning they act in ways that benefit society as a whole. The purpose of a B Corp company is not just to generate profits, but also to do social and environmental good. Companies that want to become a B Corp must obtain a minimum rating on the B Impact Assessment, which measures how the business impacts its community, customers, employees, and environment.

In order for Nespresso to obtain and sustain their B Corp licence ship, they have made significant efforts to build towards a more sustainable future. So sit back, grab your cup of coffee and enjoy!

FUTURE FOR FARMERS

In 2003, the company launched a program in partnership with Rainforest Alliance called Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality™. The AAA Program is a coffee sourcing program that aims to ensure a steady supply of high-quality coffee while also improving farmers’ and communities’ livelihoods and protecting the environment. This is done by investing in infrastructure, the best agricultural methods, and giving them knowledge through trainings. Since its launch in 2003, the program has grown exponentially, and now supports over 70,000 farmers from 12 countries.

CARING FOR CIRCULARITY

The capsules are made of aluminium, a very sustainable option as this means they can be recycled endlessly. Your morning coffee might one day become a piece of a pen, bicycle, or a car.

The true beauty, however, is on the inside: the used coffee grounds are broken down and reused in a variety of ways. In Spain, for example, the used coffee is used as fertilizer in rice fields. The harvest is then distributed to 55 food banks across the country. What a full circle moment!

In other words, the story doesn’t end when your cup is empty. Last year, Nespresso launched a collaboration with the French shoe brand Zèta to create a sneaker made of recycled coffee grounds. To be precise, each pair contained 12 cups worth of coffee grounds which had been integrated into the vegan leather uppers as well as the soles of the shoes.

Want to contribute and make sure your capsules live on? Leave your used capsules at one of the designated collection points, drop them off at a boutique or if you order your capsules online or over the phone, simply give back the used capsules when receiving a new order.

We are proud to offer our guests Nespresso coffee in all our apartments, so that together, we can work towards a better future!