Alternative trading organization Cafédirect has become the first UK coffee producer to gain B Corporation certification, it announced this week.
Firms are awarded B-Corp certification by the non-profit B Lab if they have formally embedded environmental and social factors into a company’s remit.
John Steel, CEO of Cafédirect, said: “We are very excited to be part of the B Corp movement. As a pioneer, it is our role to embrace approaches that drive businesses to behave better and enable consumers to make better choices.
“We are proud to challenge the way business is done and have done so ever since Cafédirect was founded through collaboration in 1991. As a brand, we embody positive impact, whether it’s providing much needed income to remote smallholder communities through the sales of our Fairtrade tea and coffee, engaging farmers in the leadership of the business or reinvesting funds in our own standalone, producer-led charity.
“No metrics, fancy charts or infographics can ever have the same meaning as smallholder farmers thanking you for making the impossible, possible. This is what good business is about. This is the great taste of Cafédirect – irresistible, impactful and unique.”
Kate Sandle, head of community at B Lab UK, added: “Cafédirect has always had social responsibility at its heart, and we are pleased that such a trailblazing company has chosen to join a global movement that’s reinventing business.
“The growth of the B Corp community in the UK and globally is testament that meaningful change is underway, with B Corp becoming ‘business as usual’.”
