Sustainability earns Whangārei-based coffee producer award

A range of sustainability initiatives from innovative packaging and energy-efficient solutions to on-site solar electricity generation have earned a Whangārei-based coffee producer a top accolade for business excellence in the field of sustainability.

Stu Hargie and his five-strong team from Turning Point Coffee took out the Northland Regional Council-sponsored Excellence in Sustainability and Climate Action Award at the recent Northland Business Excellence Awards. (The company also won the tlc4u2 Limited-sponsored Excellence in Business Micro Business Award.)

Council Chair Geoff Crawford says the sustainability award goes to the Northland business which best epitomises an overall commitment to environmental excellence.

He says Turning Point Coffee’s dedication to challenging the status quo and pioneering sustainable practices is inspiring.

"With strategies like solar energy utilization, low-emissions transport, water collection systems, and optimized roasting schedules this company exemplifies what it means to be a leader in sustainability." "It's also making a significant impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

Chair Crawford says the company’s active participation in community sustainability projects, especially in developing the coffee industry in Te Taitokerau, is admirable.

Mr Hargie says as he travelled the world hunting coffee for other large coffee companies over the years, he had witnessed naturally stunning places spoiled by waste and the by-products of modern life. New Zealand was not immune from that.

"This made me think about our world, we don’t own it, we’re just the tenants for a while, and it’s respectful to be good tenants, let’s not burn the house down and ruin it for the next whanau."

He says from the start, the goal of the four-year-old business had been to minimise its impacts - "or better yet, to create only positive impacts".

Mr Hargie says one simple example of this is that by delivering to local cafes in reusable drums, the company has already prevented more than 25,000 pieces of packaging from being produced and discarded locally.

He says when the business launched, everything felt like a challenge, especially finding truly authentic solutions in the sustainability space.

"There were plenty of buzzwords around like ‘biodegradable’ but understanding what they actually meant - and whether they were genuinely sustainable - wasn’t easy." "We often had to pay high premiums and even had look overseas, as many options weren’t available here in New Zealand."

He says fortunately as more businesses prioritise climate action, more sustainable options are emerging.

"Our big goal is to inspire others by leading the way in this space." "We often have conversations with other businesses interested in reducing their impact, and while we make a small difference on our own, many droplets make up the ocean."

He advises other businesses looking to adopt more sustainable practices to take small steps and focus on the long-term benefits.

"You don’t have to be perfect; sustainability is an ongoing journey."

And he urges businesses to put pressure on their suppliers to find better, positive impact solutions.

"Suppliers may not know there is a problem if you’re not seeking a better solution."