Founded back in 1864, Matthew Algie is a Glasgow-based coffee company, providing exceptional roast coffee for thousands of cafés and hospitality businesses across the UK & Ireland. The company applied for the Step Up to Net Zero (SUTNZ) programme as they realised additional support was required to implement some of the activities needed in order to become a Net Zero company by 2040.
Through the programme, Matthew Algie was able to recruit a passionate and enthusiastic Sustainability Coordinator, Alessandro, who was given a four month placement to review the company’s sustainability plans and create internal engagement, whilst delivering on changing processes and behaviours.
RESULTS
- Repurposing coffee chaff, going to an Ayrshire farm to now be used as fertiliser for local crops to be grown
- Producing an informative and in-depth travel policy to be used at all levels of the business
HOW THEY DID IT
During the SUTNZ placement, Alessandro immediately brought his passion for the environment and past work knowledge to his role at Matthew Algie. Being an excellent communicator, Alessandro quickly became part of the team with a hands-on attitude to work and tackling some of the challenging tasks that were needed to make reductions where possible.
As part of the SUTNZ programme, Alessandro has helped Matthew Algie execute many sustainable actions – the implementation of reusable cups in the office segregating their waste, setting up bins throughout the site to allow for segregation, promoting the benefits of the circular economy and donating waste coffee to Mossgiel farm.
Matthew Algie aims to become a Net Zero organisation by 2024. The company will continue to monitor waste segregation and collect data, support managers and staff to implement their environmental pledges, introduce circular economy principles in their NPD process and finally work with the purchasing team so becoming Net Zero by 2040 forms part of their sourcing policy.