Californian organic coffee roaster Groundwork Coffee is the latest coffee business to attain B Corp certification, achieving an overall B Impact score of 93.5
Groundwork Coffee achieved an impressive overall B Impact score of 93.5 | Photo credit: Groundwork Coffee
Organic coffee roaster Groundwork Coffee has been awarded B Corp certification in recognition for its ‘ethically sourced’, Certified Organic coffee.
B Corp certification evaluates a company’s performance across five impact areas – governance, workers, community, environment, and customers – to produce a holistic assessment operational impact.
Candidates must score a minimum of 80 points across impact areas to become B Corp-certified and must complete the recomplete assessment every three years.
Groundwork, which achieved an impressive overall B Impact score of 93.5, operates a direct trade model working directly with smallholder, family-operated coffee farms.
The company supplies coffee to restaurant chain Café Gratitude, ice cream parlour Jeni’s and Big Sugar Bakeshop, amongst others.
Groundwork, which operates two roasteries in Los Angeles and Portland, is a proponent of Regenerative Organic Certified coffee and is set to be one of the first California-based coffee companies to offer the new certification for food, textiles, and personal care ingredients.
The company’s Los Angeles roasting facility is fully powered by solar energy and operates a unique hybrid/gas-electric coffee roaster which the company promotes as giving the roaster one of the smallest carbon footprints in the global coffee industry.
“At Groundwork, our mission is to source and share exceptional organic coffee that inspires people to work hard, dream big, and impact the world. It’s a goal that has been part of Groundwork since we opened the Venice Beach café in 1990, and one that has come to fruition in the best way possible with our new Certified B Corp status,” said Jessica Smith, Vice President of Marketing, Groundwork.
Groundwork Coffee joins a growing number of major coffee businesses that have achieved B Corp certification, including Sustainable Harvest, Counter Culture Coffee, Caravela Coffee, Origin, Coffee Collective, illycaffè and Nespresso.