How Cameron’s Clean Earth Team is Making a Difference
From the farmers we choose to work with, to the things we do to reduce waste, Cameron’s Coffee is a company committed to doing the right thing. That includes doing the right thing in our roastery, finished goods warehouse and office spaces!
This year, Cameron’s formed the Clean Earth Team with a goal of reducing Cameron’s overall operation and product environment footprint. A playbook has been developed to guide progress toward 45 sustainable best practices, which range from energy and water efficiency, health and safety, community social responsibility, and waste and recycling measures, among others. A poster hangs in the Cameron’s offices to visually track progress towards implementing these best practices as well. It’s a team effort!
The 5 members of the Clean Earth team conduct monthly facility walk-throughs to identify areas of improvement and track progress to goals. We are excited about the work being done, below are a few highlights!
- Cameron’s is now using 100% renewable energy through the Clean Energy Choice for Business program through Shakopee Public Utilities.
- Excess coffee bean chaff is composted locally. Chaff is an organic waste product created from roasting the coffee beans. While companies may throw their chaff away, we have partnered with a nearby composting facility, SMSC Organics Recycling Facility, to collect our excess chaff. Rather than having the chaff end up in a landfill, SMSC is repurposing this byproduct and turning it into fertilizer! SMSC also composts our excess coffee filter material from our EcoPod production!
- Earth Day neighborhood clean-up by Cameron’s staff collected dozens of bags of trash from the surrounding area. We had a blast safely coming together to celebrate Earth Day with the clean up.
We sat down with Rachel Abele, the head of the Clean Earth Team, to hear about her passion for sustainability at Cameron’s.
Why are you interested in sustainability?
“I first got interested in sustainability because I liked conservation and science, but as I learned more about it, I realized it is much more than just recycling and being ‘green.’ I am in sustainability because it is about making sure that generations of humans to come have better lives as well as a better Earth. I went into sustainability to help make the world a better place for the future not only for humans, but for all other life on the planet we share.”
Why did you commit to being the Clean Earth Team Lead?
“I committed to the being the Clean Earth Team Lead because I believe Cameron’s, although more sustainable than many other businesses, can still improve and I am motivated to drive those improvements. There is so much potential for more sustainable practices and I feel that now there is a team to come up with ideas and create the change, that we will become known as a sustainable company to our customers.”
What excites you most about the Clean Earth Team?
“I am most excited for getting everyone at the company involved and seeing the changes happen in real time at our facility. Usually you just hear about companies making these changes but now, everyone at Cameron’s gets to be a part of it. I am ready to see all the new opportunities the Clean Earth Team will lead to!”
Stay tuned for more updates from our rockstar Clean Earth Team!
