We think carefully about how to reduce the amount of resource we use, plus how to recycle our used resources into something new.
We think carefully about how to reduce the amount of resource we use, plus how to recycle our used resources into something new. Below are some of the highlights from our UK and Ireland team over the last couple of years and you can read our policy on managing our environmental impact here.
Define our global water footprint and develop reduction targets.
Aim to achieve zero waste to landfill at all our retail stores in our key markets.
Enable used coffee grounds to be up-cycled in all retail stores
In partnership with Veolia, we recycle plastics and cardboard in our owned UK stores. Any residual waste is processed and converted into energy. We currently recycle around 56% of the waste we generate, slightly down on our pre-pandemic levels, and send less than 0.5% of our waste to landfill. We continue to engage our team members to boost recycling rates and identify how we can support them recycle more whilst running busy stores with limited back-of-house space.
In all of our owned UK stores we don’t throw away our used coffee grounds, we send them back via our distribution network to a coffee recycling company called bio-bean, a Certified B Corporation™. bio-bean then upcycle the coffee grounds into new products, such as Coffee Logs – planet-friendly fire logs for your wood burner or stove. The logs are available for purchase through many major retailers across the UK. We've upcycled more than 20,000 tonnes of coffee grounds since our partnership with bio-bean began in 2016. Learn more about bio-bean.
Customers can also pick up a free bag of coffee grounds for their compost heap or garden. Please ask your local store for availability.
Food waste is a huge challenge globally and we all have a part to play in reducing it. In 2019 we committed to reduce our food waste by signing the Step Up to the Plate Pledge and the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap. In 2022 we joined WRAP ’s 2030 Courtauld Commitment, which also has a key focus on food waste reduction. We're striving to get better data on exactly how much food gets wasted across our stores, so that we can put in place interim targets to achieve our ultimate aspiration that ‘no edible food should go to waste’.
Our starting point is improving our food ordering system so that we reduce the potential for food waste to arise in the first place. Our store teams then follow the principles of the food waste hierarchy: sell any unsold food at a reduced price; attempt to donate unsold food to local organisations and charities where possible; recycle any remaining food that is no longer safe to consume. Here are some examples of how we do this:
Since 2014, Costa Express has worked closely with resource management group, WEEE Scotland Ltd, to reduce the carbon and waste footprint of our Express machines. In an average year Costa Express engineers send over 11,000 parts to WEEE Scotland where an impressive 83% of these items are remanufactured and certified for reuse within the Costa Express business. The remaining materials are transferred to WEEE Scotland’s fully licensed recycling division where the equipment is dismantled and segregated into different material types (plastic, metal, glass etc) for recycling. We are proud that no item is sent to landfill.
We're supporting the people at the heart of our business and investing in our teams by creating an inclusive work space so people can bring their true selves to work.
