A Guide to Running a Sustainable Coffee Shop
So, you own a coffee shop; or you’re planning to? Maybe you don’t own it but you’re in a management position and know the benefits of building environmental and social values into your daily operations. I’m going to lay some of the lessons I’ve learned on the table. Before I begin, I’ll give you some context. I own a coffee shop in a small town/suburb near Liverpool in the UK. It’s a fairly affluent area which was important when choosing a location. There’s no wrong area to open a coffee shop, you just need to adapt your offering. We wanted to offer specialty coffee and really test the boundaries of what was offered in our area and what people were used to. At the time, great coffee was only found in the cities.
I’m also a Sustainability Consultant, so naturally, I was going to look to implement those values into any business I start. However, I’m certainly not unique; many coffee shop owners are now seeing the benefits of not only reducing their overheads, being more resourceful, but also the reputation they’re gaining with customers. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you, there are quite a few coffee shops in the world…. Probably quite a few in your local area. It’s important to differentiate and stand…
