New Dawn Traders began in 2012, with the opportunity to sail aboard the Irene of Bridgewater to transport olive oil from Portugal to Brazil. Despite this being a failed mission, this voyage opened the door to future success.

With the cost of living rising, and supermarkets dominating supply chains with “cheap” options, it’s easy to think the idea of transporting coffee and produce by sail cargo is an unrealistic one. However, over the past 12 years, consumer demands have shifted dramatically, and many businesses now place sustainability at the heart of their operations.

Creating a more sustainable and ethical supply chain is proving its worth against all odds. The Vermont Sail Freight Project, the Sail Transport Network in the United States, the Greenheart Project in Fiji, TOWT in France, Holland’s Fairtransport, and B9 Shipping are just a few of the pioneering initiatives in sail cargo.

The focus is on British, Irish, and Dutch shores, where independent coffee roasters such as Farm Hand Coffee, based in Dublin, and Yallah Coffee, based in Cornwall, have teamed up with sailors to connect communities on both sides of the Atlantic.

It’s not every morning — or even throughout the day — that we think about the impact of our cup of coffee. But in my opinion, it would be quite mind-blowing to open my coffee jar every day and know that it had travelled thousands of nautical miles to reach me.

When spending company funds with large multinational corporations, local communities and farmers certainly miss out on the economic benefits.

As a final consumer, or as a business, it’s impossible not to feel much more connected to the process and the people behind the product when coffee, tea, or any other commodity is shipped by sail. After all, our coffee only reaches us thanks to a crew going with the wind.

• Inês Coutinho, digital editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.
  Keep in touch via email: ines@bellpublishing.com Twitter: @TCTradeJournal or LinkedIn: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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From farmers to consumers, JDE Peet’s strives to champion an inclusive and regenerative ecosystem through its Common Grounds Programme which is comprised of three pillars: Responsible Sourcing, Minimising Footprint and Connecting People.

This recognition, based on the company’s improved CSA score, underscores JDE Peet’s’ longstanding commitment to creating a sustainable future.

Fabien Simon, CEO of JDE Peet’s, commented, “Three years ago, we engaged in a turnaround, which led us to rediscover the power of our brands. While we stepped up investments, execution and innovation, we brought back relevance for our consumers and our customers. Sustainability is playing an important role to enable relevance, as we became committed to foster an inclusive ecosystem. I am very proud of the progress we have made on our sustainability journey, in parallel with transforming the operational performance of JDE Peet’s. We acknowledge there is much more to do in order to reach 100% responsibly sourced coffee by 2025 and meeting our net-zero carbon emission target by 2050. Yet, we are greatly encouraged by the external recognition of the leading position of JDE Peet’s, which is the only coffee company included in the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index. We remain committed to continually improve our performance to deliver sustainable value for all our stakeholders and secure the future of coffee and tea.”

JDE Peet’s also performed particularly well in the fields of Emissions, Resource Efficiency & Circularity, Waste Management, Human Capital Development, Talent Attraction & Retention and Cybersecurity & System Availability.

Laurent Sagarra, VP of sustainability at JDE Peet’s, commented, “Sustainability is a journey, where every step counts. Over the past years we’ve stepped up from being directly involved at origin in over 60 farmer projects to actively playing our part in reducing scope 1,2 and 3 emissions. While we recognise that there’s still a long road ahead, I’m very proud of the positive impact we are already having around the world to improve the lives of nearly 600,000 smallholder farmers.”

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The average Canadian boils twice the amount of water needed for a single cup of tea and the impact on the environment is not small. Research conducted by THAC with Carbon Intelligence showed that by boiling just what you need, Canadians could cut total annual carbon emissions by 83 tons per day. With an average of 22,000,000 cups of tea consumed daily in Canada, that equals 582,954 kWh of wasted energy.

“The reality of climate change is very present in the lives of Canadians. We’ve seen the impact firsthand with floods and wildfires. What was the need for climate change has now become a full blow climate emergency and we all need to step up and do our part. The Smart Boil campaign is our way to show Canadians that even small changes matter,” says Shabnam Weber, president of THAC.

The Smart Boil initiative has been launched by THAC to show Canadians that boiling just enough water for their favourite cup of tea, can have a real impact on the environment. “Every tea drinker can be a part of the Canadian government’s goal to reach net zero by 2050,” Weber says.

SMART BOIL FACTS: Canadians drink an average of 22,000,000 cups of tea per day. By boiling just what you need, it would save:

• 582,954 kWh of energy per day
• $104,349 in energy bills per day
• 83 tCO₂e in greenhouse gas emissions per day

That’s the equivalent of:  

• 10,493 propane cylinders used for a home barbecue
• 335,701 km driven in an average passenger car
• 291,477 dishwasher loads every day

What can you do, according to THAC: 

• Help to spread the word by sharing the information on social media using #SmartBoil #JustWhatYouNeed.
• Cycle, walk or take public transit over driving when you can.
• Eat seasonally and locally.
• Get a home energy audit and make your home more efficient.

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