Corporate Social Responsibility Press Release
provided by 
8.14.2008 - 02:53pm ET
News from:
Sustainable Harvest Coffee Importers
Sustainable Harvest Becomes a Certified B Corporation
Specialty coffee importer promotes fair & transparent trade worldwide while benefiting its partners, employees and the environment
(CSRwire) Berwyn, PA - 14 August 2008 - B Lab announced today that specialty coffee
importer Sustainable Harvest was certified as a B Corporation, joining
over 120 other leading companies who are setting a new corporate standard
for social and environmental performance. B Corporations are a new type of
corporation that are purpose-driven and create benefit for all
stakeholders, not just shareholders. To become certified, B Corporations
must meet comprehensive and transparent social and environmental
performance standards, and amend their corporate governing documents to
incorporate the interests of employees, community and the environment.
"We became a B Corporation because we have always operated our business in
a way that supports all of our stakeholders' interests," says President
David Griswold. "We are a triple-bottom line focused company and we are
excited to be part of a broader community of organizations that share a
common vision."
Founded in 1997, Sustainable Harvest is one of the highest volume
importers of organic and fair-trade coffee in North America. Sustainable
Harvest partners with a network of over 200,000 coffee farmers in Latin
America and Africa and specialty coffee roasters in North America and
Europe. Sustainable Harvest pioneered the Relationship Coffee model, which
fosters fair and transparent trade throughout the entire coffee supply
chain. Sustainable Harvest changed the concept of an importer from a
"middleman", who traditionally keeps suppliers and buyers apart, to
facilitating partnerships and bringing farmers, roasters, and other
industry partners together to create long term buying relationships,
improve quality, and address industry challenges. Sustainable Harvest
facilitates direct communication between roasters and farmers, thereby
creating more successful businesses at both ends of the supply chain.
In addition to its Relationship Coffee model, Sustainable Harvest annually
invests nearly $500,000 into overseas farmer training offices and
education. Sustainable Harvest recognizes that one of the best means to
strengthen its services to roasters is through investment in farmer
training, as this enhances producer skills and helps ensure quality
deliveries. This funding covers staff and offices at coffee origin
(Mexico, Peru, and Tanzania), which provide on the ground support and
training for coffee farmers, as well as Let's Talk Coffee, an annual 3-day
training event. Let's Talk Coffee brings together all supply chain partners
and facilitates peer-to-peer education and training among Sustainable
Harvest's network of over 200,000 small and medium scale farmers.
"Sustainable Harvest has been a leader in the movement to spur fairly and
sustainably sourced coffee for the last decade," says B Lab co-founder
Bart Houlahan. "Not only do they work to build long-term relationships
between suppliers and roasters, they also train farmers on the ground in
both business and agricultural best practices to ensure the long-term
financial and environmental sustainability of their coffee."
Sustainable Harvest works exclusively with family farms and cooperatives
and invests over a third of its gross operating margin into the supply
chain to train and support farmers and facilitate supply-side activities.
Sustainable Harvest's goal is to improve farmers' lives by creating a
transparent and sustainable coffee supply chain.
B Lab helps companies like Sustainable Harvest set the new corporate
standard for social and environmental performance. Since its founding in
2007, B Lab has certified over one hundred twenty companies with a
collective market presence of $900 million, all leaders within the green,
local living economies, employee-ownership, fair trade, organic, and
sustainable business movements and from the food, apparel, home, financial
services, building, action sports, technology, business services, telecom,
restaurant, marketing, and retail industries.
About B Lab
B Lab, a 501(c)(3) non profit organization, supports B Corporations by:
certifying B Corporations who achieve a minimum score on the B Ratings
System; disseminating a legal framework to institutionalize stakeholder
interests within existing corporate law; promoting B Corporations through
a unifying brand; and helping B Corporations access mission-aligned
capital markets.
Certified B Corporations include companies such as Method Home Products,
King Arthur Flour, Dansko, T.S. Designs, Hanson Bridgett, TBL Capital,
BBMG, Numi Organic Tea, Nolan Painting, Give Something Back Business
Products, Seventh Generation, Better World Books, White Dog Café, Agora
Partnerships, IceStone, gDiapers, Practical Energy Solutions, Good
Capital, Busboys and Poets, New Leaf Paper, and Guayakí Sustainable
Rainforest Products. For a full list of Certified B Corporations please
see the B Community page on www.bcorporation.net.
To contact B Lab founders Jay Coen Gilbert, Bart Houlahan and Andrew
Kassoy, please call or email Heather Van Dusen or
heather@bcorporation.net. B Lab and B Corporation imagery and more
information are available at www.bcorporation.net.
About Sustainable Harvest
Based in Portland, Oregon, Sustainable Harvest is the leading importer of
fair trade and organic coffees in North America. For more information on
Sustainable Harvest, please contact Libby Evans at
Libby@sustainableharvest.com or (503) 235-1119; visit the company's
website at www.sustainableharvest.com.
For more information please contact:
Libby Evans
Sustainable Harvest Coffee Importers
503-235-1119
www.sustainableharvest.com
Heather van Dusen
B Lab
610-715-7719
www.bcorporation.net
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Ratings & Awards and Sustainability
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