Why B Corp?

Our goal is continuous improvement and shaping Carringtons Coffee Co to be the best version of itself. For us this means holding ourselves accountable to a standard set by B Corp. Regardless of our small company size we believe by starting now we're setting ourselves up for a better future.

What is a B Impact Assessment?

Conducting a B Corp Impact Assessment allows us to evaluate how we're performing as a business in terms of our social, environmental and govenrmental impact. It's a management tool that allows us to identify areas we need to improve and scores us where we're doing things right. By achieving a benchmark score we can qualify for B Corp certifcation. We are confident in our practices that we will reach these requirements in 2022.

Ethics and Environment

Mission Statement

We are committed to ethically sourcing specialty grade coffee that rewards the coffee farmer and through reinvestment and tips we are equally committed to supporting this part of the coffee supply chain. We believe in continuous improvement where our environmental impact is concerned (we fund research via the European Regional Development Fund at Lancaster University for sustainable, eco-friendly coffee packaging materials) and at the roastery we operate with minimal waste, recycling where possible, utilising reusable materials, carbon-neutral and recyclable packaging. Everything we do starts with a conversation. We partner with mental health charity Blackdog Outdoors and support them by giving 30p from every bag sale.

Price is never our primary determining factor.

Coffee sourcing and our roastery eco-system

It should go without saying that we source our coffee at a fair price for the coffee farmer and that our eco-system at the roastery is based on minimum wastage, recycling and using recycled/ recyclable materials wherever we can.

More about coffee sourcing

We've imported directly from Colombia and our negotiation process was simple - we asked the farm how much they wanted and when they came back with a price we said yes! We want the farmer to be generously compensated for their hard work in producing specialty coffee and to be able to afford everything they need year on year.
All other coffees are sourced from specialty coffee traders based in the UK who provide full traceability to the farm. We study their offerings diligently!

More about recycling

Organic waste (mostly chaff from the roaster and used coffee grounds) are available for free from the roastery for your garden
Our shipping boxes are made from recycled cardboard and sealed with paper adhesive tape.

Coffee packaging

When we considered packaging for our roasted coffee we had many options available. We reviewed kraft paper, lined bags, semi-compostable plant-based material, recyclable plastics, even canning! Unfortunately there was no clear winner.

Our approach has to be pragmatic with a primary focus on quality, followed closely by an environmentally conscious decision.

We chose coffee packaging from Dutch Coffee Pack for the following reasons:

Quality
One-way valves for preserving coffee freshness
Premium look and feel
Single material
Made from PET/PE , plastic recycling No.7 (check with your local council)
(Relatively) Local supplier (Designed and produced in The Netherlands)
Carbon neutral (All bags produced are carbon neutral, offset with CO2-reducing projects in coffee growing countries)

We're always looking for more sustainable coffee packaging solutions.

European Regional Development Fund - Coffee Packaging Research Study Lancaster University

We are working with the material sciences department at Lancaster University to research sustainable and eco-friendly coffee packaging materials. We are also looking into ways of improving the infrastructure for recycling coffee packaging. This research funding was granted by the European Regional Development Fund in 2021.