Americans have a love affair with coffee. In fact, many people can’t imagine starting their day without a cup or two. This demand for coffee has led to thousands of coffee shops popping up across the country over the past twenty-five years. The last quarter century has also seen a growing interest among consumers for environmentally friendly goods. Serving local and organic products are not only preferred but expected by some discerning coffee drinkers.

Satisfying these customers requires making intentional choices to source coffee, cups and pastries from producers who share similar values. By adopting ecologically sustainable business practices, coffee shops can do their part to protect the land and make a profit.

Buy Organic

There are several terms used to describe coffee such as organic, shade grown and fair trade. Fair trade means that the coffee growers are paid a fair wage for their effort and commitment to quality. Much of this quality comes from practicing organic cultivation methods that exclude chemical fertilizers.

Shade grown coffee plants are raised under the canopies of larger trees. This practice reduces deforestation or requires planting shade trees. Combined with not using harmful chemicals, the system of maintaining tree density saves the soil from erosion and toxic poisons. The end result is better coffee, which creates creates a joyful circle of happy coffee drinkers and happy coffee growers. Using sales automation software will also help grow revenue.

Buy Local

Whereas most coffee is not grown in the United States, coffee shop proprietors can choose to source their dairy products and food menu items locally. In addition to supporting local businesses, buying local reduces the time these items spend on a truck. This saved time translates into less fuel used. Until alternative energy sources become more common, the damage caused to the land by oil extraction methods like fracking can be discouraged by lowering the demand for oil and gasoline.

Reuse Containers

Most coffee shops still serve the majority of their coffee drinks in single-use containers. Changing this habit is difficult; paper and plastic cups are convenient. How many people have time in the morning to remember to grab their reusable coffee cup, not to mention clean it after each use? Perhaps there is some merit to the second excuse, to-go cups might be more hygienic.

Fortunately, some shops serve all beverages for customers remaining in the store in glass or ceramic mugs. However, coffee containers aren’t the only potentially reusable product in coffee shops. For customers planning to stay in the shop to enjoy their coffee, plastic spoons and stir sticks can be replaced with stainless steel utensils. The same is true of knives and forks used for sweets and sandwiches.

Business owners willing to give up the profit from selling bottled water, should encourage their guests to bring reusable water bottles and fill them with filtered water for a small fee. That way everyone wins. For every reusable coffee or water container filled, that is one less plastic cup or bottle in the city dump.

Recycle Cups

In an ideal world, every coffee and water sold would be in a reusable container. For shops where this is not common or possible, the next best thing is to serve coffee in recyclable and biodegradable cups. Baristas can set up recycling bins in the store to collect used cups from dine-in guests. Controlling what customers do with their finished coffee cups when they’ve taken their drinks to go is more problematic.

Asking every customer to recycle their cups might be too intrusive, but a few well-placed polite signs could make a difference. In this situation, biodegradable cups are helpful because they won't rot in a landfill for generations.

Coffee shops have the opportunity to help save the land. By selling organic products and promoting the reuse of beverage containers, they can make a difference one cup of coffee at a time.