By; Giorgia F.
In this interview, I talked with Athina Summerbell about working at ethical coffee company Coaltown Coffee in Wales, UK.
Photo from: WalesOnline
How did you first become involved with Coaltown Coffee?
I worked previously for Lush cosmetics so my passion has always been with working with sustainable companies. Last year I moved to Ammanford and as fate would have it a job with Coaltown came up, I decided to take a chance and ended up getting it! I am now running sales, customer service and the B corp aspect for them and loving it.
What specific “new and innovative” practices does Coaltown Coffee use to make sure they sustainably source their coffee?
As a B corp we are now not just ethically bound to be sustainable but also legally. Anyone can buy green coffee beans, they aren’t difficult to source - however being able to have full traceability of the product is another thing. We source our coffee via direct trade deals with the growing regions, allowing us to pay the farmers a fair wage and get extremely high quality coffee in return. We believe the fairer the deal between farmer and Roaster, ultimately the better the coffee is as it gives a real incentive to develop better practices.
Photo from: B Corporation
From which different areas does Coaltown source their coffee and how do they make sure it is sourced ethically and sustainability?
We source a variety of coffees from all across the ‘bean belt’ ( countries with high altitudes along the equator line) We try to focus on under-used areas and minority run farms that would see real benefit from Roaster involvement. One of our latest coffees was from the Kirindera women's peace project in The Republic of Congo.
What is the significance that this town, which was once in the coal mining business, is now committed to producing sustainable coffee?
As with most industrial towns, a closure of a major source of employment has a devastating effect on those in the area. With the spike in unemployment came a wave of drug abuse and various other issues - effects that can still be seen today. Coaltown was created to bring a new industry back to the town, one that can be grown and developed bringing hope to the next generation that careers can be found closer to home ( that also benefits the planet too) .
How has COVID-19 affected Coaltown’s commitment to sustainability and ethical sourcing?
In terms of what we have been able to achieve during this time it’s been phenomenal. The entire country went into lockdown which meant we had time available to really look into everything we do and fine tune our practices to make massive progress in becoming the best version of Coaltown we can be.
How does buying coffee directly from farmers lead to more ethical/sustainable sourcing practices?
Coaltown is focused on building sustainable relationships with high quality growers around the world. we understand that the farmers are at the heart of what makes quality coffee rather than any supplier or third party. thats why we go the extra mile to go straight to the source and cut out any middleman. We like to give credit to the farmers at the origin of coffee and thats why our ethos is pay fairly for the dedication and effort that they adopt every day.
We believe the fairer the deal between producer and farmer, the higher the quality of coffee is cultivated, its as simple as that.
What do you think is the biggest sustainability challenge facing the coffee industry today and why?
I think it’s the lack of knowledge. Being sustainable isn’t easy and it takes a lot of time & effort to research and put into practice. However the more common it becomes to be ethical the easier it will be to have access to planet friendly services as the demand will be there.
Reading through Coaltown’s 2020 report, it is noted how much more expensive sustainable alternatives of basic items like coffee bags are. Why is this problematic and what can be done to reduce costs so that sustainability becomes more of a practicality for coffee businesses rather than a liability?
Again, its demand. The more companies actively ask for sustainable products and services the more cost effective it will be. It takes a lot for a business to put their money where their mouth is and that’s part of the appeal of Coaltown. We care, and we understand that for now at least - spending that little bit more on bags etc will have a massive effect on the planet and encourage others to do the same.
How challenging was it for Coaltown to operate on 100% renewable energy and do you think this is a realistic possibility for the majority of coffee businesses?
We are very lucky in the UK, we have a lot of energy suppliers who promote renewable energy. The switch was actually very straightforward. We partner with OPUS energy who are the first energy suppliers in the UK to pledge to be Carbon negative by 2030.
Photo from: Wales.com
Thank you again Athina for partaking in this interview! It was great learning more about such an amazing B Corp and we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. You can follow Athina on her environmental Instagram account @ethicalswaps!