Swiss Water Decaf & Sustainability

From Swiss Water Decaf’s Official 2017 Report on Sustainability.

Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company is part of a remarkable network of coffee growers, producers, exporters, roasters, baristas and coffee lovers. Swiss Water Decaf play one unique and special role in that chain. Their process is chemical free, which maintains the chain of sustainability from farm to cup. To achieve that, Swiss Water Decaf take a process that’s already free of chemicals, continually improve and innovate this process to be more efficient, and deliver higher quality while actively managing usage.

SUSTAINABLE DECAFFEINATION

Swiss Water® Process is proudly chemical free. And because Swiss Water Decaf keep methylene chloride and ethyl acetate out of their facility, Swiss Water Decaf keep it out of the supply chain and out of coffee. This means that the coffee Swiss Water Decaf process maintains its sustainability throughout the supply chain from farm to cup.

SWISS WATER DECAF TRACEABILITY

In 2016, Swiss Water Decaf launched an online traceability program that allows their customers to directly trace many of the coffees they buy from us. In 2016, 27% of the coffees Swiss Water Decaf coffees were traceable to the mill, and Swiss Water Decaf expect to grow this to 36% in 2017.

COFFEE COMMUNITIES & SWISS WATER DECAF

By supporting the sustainability of the community, Swiss Water Decaf support the sustainability of the farms.

GROUNDS FOR HEALTH

Since 2003, Swiss Water Decaf has had a close relationship with Grounds for Health, and Swiss Water Decaf are committed to influencing direct and positive impact on the health, dignity of women and families in coffee-growing communities. Swiss Water Decaf have contributed over CAN$300K in corporate and employee contributions. Their employees proudly volunteer, contribute and raise funds for this great initiative.

RUN FOR WATER

The Run for Water Society shares the goal of promoting healthy physical activity and community spirit as Swiss Water Decaf raises funds for clean water development. This year, they are supporting water projects in Dengali, Ethiopia. In 2016 members of their team participated in the Run for Water, and Swiss Water Decaf were so impressed that in 2017 Swiss Water Decaf have expanded their support of the organization with a sponsorship of the Abbotsford Run For Water.

MiiR

A portion of all MiiR’s proceeds support 55+ water projects in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa including filters, construction and rehabilitation of water systems, hygiene and sanitation programs. When looking for a mug to give their partners and friends, partnering with MiiR just made sense.

Improving efficiencies to reduce resource usage of Swiss Water Decaf coffee

Swiss Water® Process is a chemical-free decaffeination process that uses only coffee, water, temperature, and time to extract caffeine from green coffee beans. Swiss Water Decaf are fully committed to quality coffee, and Swiss Water Decaf are committed to never using chemicals to remove caffeine. Swiss Water Decaf proudly keep methylene chloride and ethyl acetate out of their facility and away from coffee.

While free of chemicals, their process does use energy, natural gas, and water. Their approach to responsible energy management integrates Swiss Water Decaf internal metrics & tracking with specific plans and strategies targeted at continuing improvements in energy usage and efficiency.

By combining a focus on manufacturing efficiencies with an innovative approach to constantly improving their process, Swiss Water Decaf serve their environment, community and customers by providing the best quality product while continually working to reduce resource usage.

Water

Swiss Water Decaf use Green Coffee Extract (GCE) to decaffeinate coffee, so the majority of their water usage goes towards moving carbon around their system. Swiss Water Decaf carefully manage water usage so that the majority (75%) is returned to rivers and streams. Because Swiss Water Decaf do not use chemical in their process, minimal treatment is required.

Electricity

Through efficiency improvements, Swiss Water Decaf substantially reduced their Kwh per pound of coffee in 2015, a trend that Swiss Water Decaf sustained in 2016.

Natural Gas

Through process improvements, their natural gas usage is more consistent and stable than in the past, which means Swiss Water Decaf can work against achieving greater efficiency in per-pound gas utilization.

Carbon

Swiss Water Decaf are using carbon more efficiently; attrition rate has dropped by 50% since 2009. This means Swiss Water Decaf use less virgin carbon and essentially recycle more internally.

Waste

Through work with a waste handling consultant, Swiss Water Decaf now divert 50% of their waste to alternative uses and away from the landfill, much of it going to compost.