The most successful businesses of the 21st-century employ a triple bottom line (TBL): people, planet and then profits (and in that order). Businesses must ensure the welfare of people (customers, employees, and other stakeholders), they must ensure the sustainable integrity of our planet, and lastly to survive, they must generate a profit. It is important to find a balance in these three factors and it may also be wise to use a TBL in guiding your businesses mission statement.
People
What is fair trade coffee?
Fair trade coffee means that the raw materials, the coffee beans, were sourced in a manner that the farmers of those beans receive their fair and equitable part of the proceeds. It is NOT where a sourcing company takes most of the profits. Fair trade coffee may also focus on sourcing from smaller farms. Check out Fair Trade USA for more information: https://fairtradeusa.org/.
Planet
Another important thing to consider when choosing coffee is the environmental impact it has. There are various different varieties of coffee that are more sustainable on the environment – for example, those that are shade coffees. Coffee is generally grown in tropical environments and increasingly rainforest is being removed in order to make room for coffee plantations – this is not a sustainable practice. Just like the marine stewardship council (MSC –https://www.msc.org/) and the forest stewardship council (FSC – https://us.fsc.org/en-us), the Rainforest Alliance does excellent charitable work in certifying a wide array of products and how sustainable they are. Check out the Rainforest Alliance for more information on sustainable products, including coffee: http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/.
Profit
After satisfying the people and planet components, your business must think about profits. You must turn a profit to be a healthy and thriving business. Best of luck!
Cheers!
Picture Source: http://wfto.com/fair-trade/10-principles-fair-trade