Green Café Network

love our planet a latté!

Green Business Practices

All coffeehouses in Green Cafe Network have made a committment to reducing their impacts as a business and fostering environmental stewardship in their staff and communities.

GCN and its member cafes work in a collaborative process to take actions that include:

• Commitment to serving ‘sustainably sourced’ coffee and tea (such as fair trade, organic or direct-trade sourcing).
• Reducing solid waste through recycling & composting.
• Saving electricity through efficient lighting & appliances.
• Conserving water through processes and equipment.
• Using recycled and reused materials when possible.
• Purchasing eco-friendly products & materials, including cleaning products, take-out containers, paper products, etc.
• Serving locally produced and/or organic food and other products whenever possible.
• Actively encouraging the use of ‘for here’ cups or glasses.
• Providing an incentive for use of travel mugs for 'to go' orders.
• Displaying artwork from local artists whenever possible.
• Designating space, whenever possible, for an educational and/or artistic exhibit featuring the cafe's green business practices, sustainability or green living (GCN facilitates this).
• Commitment to obtaining Green Business Certification from the city’s Green Business Program within one year of joining GCN.