Northern Ireland’s Suki Tea Makers becomes a B Corp

Suki Tea Maker founders Oscar Woolley and Annie Irwin outside the Lisburn-based eco-factory | Photo credit: Suki Tea Makers

Belfast-based Suki Tea Makers has credited the success of its eco-factory as a key factor behind its B Corp certification. 
 

Founded in 2005 by Anne Irwin and Oscar Woolley, Suki Tea Makers sources, blends and supplies packaged loose-leaf tea to Horeca, retail and at-home channels, predominantly across the UK and Ireland. Prominent clients include branded coffee chains Esquires Coffee and Kaffe O, Scottish coffee roaster Matthew Algie and National Trust for Scotland. 

In March 2023, Suki Tea Makers moved to a state-of-the-art, eco-friendly production facility near Belfast which is expected to grow production capacity by more than 600% over the next decade. The site, which runs on up to 100% renewable energy sources and generates 17% of electricity and heating from solar panels, enabled Suki Tea Makers to reduce its Scope 2 carbon emissions seven years ahead of schedule.  

“We designed the factory with sustainability at its core. It’s more than just a workspace – it’s a statement of what we stand for. From sourcing to packaging, we focus on finding sustainable solutions,” Woolley said. 

B Corp certified companies meet high standards of social and environmental performance and are evaluated by B Lab across five impact areas – governance, workers, community, environment and customers. Candidates must score a minimum of 80 points across impact areas to become B Corp-certified and must recomplete the assessment every three years. 

Suki Tea Makers scored 98.3 in its B Impact Assessment, compared to a global average of 50.9.      

In a press release, the premium loose leaf tea manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer also credited the removal of plastics from its supply chain and sustainable packaging innovation as key drivers behind becoming Northern Ireland’s first B Corp-certified tea company.  

Suki Tea Makers began switching to plastic-free, home compostable tea packaging at the end of 2019, a move it says has removed 10 tonnes of plastic from circulation.