Commitment to Responsibility,
Conservation, Stewardship
and Efficiency
Highland Estates Coffee Traders is committed to being a good neighbor in our local communities and on our planet by finding new opportunities to introduce sustainable practices into our office coffee business.
There is no map to guide us and the horizon continues to change, but we’ve begun our journey by defining both small and far-reaching actions that will help us manage our impact on the environment and by broadening those initiatives into our customers’ breakrooms.
Our direction is guided by LEEF,
a certification program for Highland Estates business teams that addresses our key values on sustainability:
- Leadership in Corporate Responsibility
Energy Conservation
Environmental Stewardship
Fleet Efficiency
Highland Estates business teams may apply for three levels of LEEF certification, silver, gold and platinum corresponding to their achievements. Certification is granted solely by the Highland Estates Green Council.
Leadership in Corporate Responsibility
- Advocate socially and environmentally responsible coffee producers
- Promote organic snacks and beverages
- Partner with responsible suppliers
- Collaborate with our communities, our customers and our associates to jointly reduce our environmental footprint.
Energy Conservation
- Provide energy efficient breakroom equipment and retrofits
- Offer carbon neutral coffee programs
- Sponsor local products purchase
Environmental Stewardship
- Educate customers on the benefits and drawbacks of compost-ready and recycled paper products
- Offer landfill reduction options for office coffee available in the community such as:
- Automated on-site beverage container collection
- Eco/Biodegradable recycling
- Commingled Recycling
- Single cup coffee packet recycling
- Loose ground coffee composting
- Waste to Energy
- Bottle and can collection
- Employ Highland Estates’ ‘Again’ refurbished equipment program
Fleet Efficiency
- Comply with ARI fleet maintenance standards
- Target top 25% of the least efficient vehicles within current fleet for replacement
- Optimize routes to reduce miles and trucks on the road
- Train associates on fuel saving driving habits
- Proactively seek, test and evaluate vehicles that provide the latest fuel efficient technology for adoption into future fleet specs