Climate Active certified and a B Corporation
In 2020 Pablo & Rusty’s achieved Climate Active carbon neutral certification. Impressively, since 2017 it has also been a B Corporation. CEO Abdullah Ramay says “Our first goal was to make sure that we are not a negative force on our society and environment.” These two accreditations are proof of this for their customers and suppliers.
See their accreditations here: Climate Active certification and B Corporation membership.
About the company
Pablo & Rusty’s was founded in 2003 by Saxon Wright. He named the business after his two coffee-loving brother in laws. Initially Wright opened a café on Sydney’s North Shore with a small off site roastery. Today Pablo & Rusty’s supplies numerous cafés and roasting is their core business. Just two Pablo & Rusty’s cafés remain in Sydney and Brisbane CBD’s. These are “sand pits” for testing coffees, equipment and ideas, says Ramay.*
From the beginning Wright wanted to make change in the industry. He understood the environmental harm caused by single use disposables and the landfill disaster caused by non-recyclable, non-compostable products. Wright envisioned a zero-waste model that would apply to every level of the supply chain for Pablo & Rusty’s. The big picture is one of sustainability and stewardship, an imperative, the coffee roaster believes, for a brighter future for the industry.
As such, technology and innovation take the coffee roaster across the world, and drives the development of environmentally friendly systems and products, such as biodegradable specialty pods.
Verifiable sustainability
Why not just do it without the accreditations? Why Climate Active and a B Corp?
According to Ramay, assertions without certifications are often just clever marketing. How is the consumer to know? This is the key reason for seeking carbon neutrality through the Federal Government-approved program – the only recognised such program in Australia. It gives employees, customers and business partners confidence. It confers authenticity and trust.
Where ever possible, this commitment also means sourcing business partners and suppliers with similar convictions. The coffee roaster found that synergy with Pangolin Associates for their Climate Active application services. Pangolin is Climate Active certified and, like the coffee roaster, is an Australian certified B Corp. Both organisations are thus recognised nationally and globally as a ‘force for good,’ for exceptional environmental and social responsibility.
Granular carbon footprint for certification
Pangolin’s team measured Pablo & Rusty’s organisational footprint, ensuring the data was comprehensive, accurate, and met Climate Active requirements. Pangolin assisted with all parts of the application, including the Public Disclosure Summary detailing the company’s emissions reduction strategy.
After calculating the footprint, Pangolin managed the company’s carbon offsets and ensured all documentation was ready for third party verification. This independent audit is an obligatory step for Climate Active certification as it confirms a true, unbiased measurement of emissions.
Ramay points out that the detailed footprint gives Pablo & Rusty’s insight, helping the company plan for future improvements.
Offsetting emissions that cannot be eliminated
Offsetting emissions that cannot be eliminated is an important next-step to reach net zero carbon. Pablo & Rusty’s chose 3,105 run-of-river hydroelectric power generation carbon credits. This project, 300MW Hydropower project by JHPL, is located in Kuppa in Himachal Pradesh, India. It feeds a much-needed renewable source of clean energy into the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB). Pablo & Rusty’s is an energy-intensive business, so the hydropower project aligned well with the company’s focus on clean, renewable electricity.
Proof of action:
Find Pablo & Rusty’s carbon credit retirement on the Verra Registry
Pablo & Rusty’s sustainability actions:
At the North Ryde location:
- Installed solar panels and LED lighting with motion sensors at the North Ryde head office and distribution facility.
- Reduce paper through digital technologies and systems.
- Prioritise local suppliers with a track record for sustainability.
Additional innovations and actions:
- Introduced biodegradable cups and lids – one of the first roasters to do so.
- Eliminates waste from the factory by giving husks to local farming initiatives.
- Began a project to develop biodegradable specialty pods.
- Launched Nitro Coffee in a can, a more sustainable alternative than plastic containers.
- Sends coffee grounds to compost.
- Uses multiple bins for different types of waste.
- Gives back to the environment through a tree planting program in Western Australia.
Employee engagement:
- Awards ‘sustainability bonuses’ to staff to encourage the use of public transport.
- Reduces travel and transport as much as possible through flexi-work options and digital meetings.
Goals for the company’s ‘Impact 2025’
Pablo & Rusty’s plans include three key goals, to be reached by 31 December 2025.
- 1% for the planet: 1% of revenue to go to initiatives for the planet;
- 100% of packaging to be sustainable (recyclable or compostable);
- Increase Pablo & Rusty’s B Corp score to 100+.
Testimonial
We believe that without certifications a lot of bold claims can become marketing ploys. We wanted to give ourselves, our team and our customers confidence that what we say is true. We also wanted to raise the bar within our industry, our country and the globe. We chose Pangolin to help us through this process. Being a fellow B Corp was a big tick of approval to start off with. Pangolin exceeded our expectations in terms of communication, adaptability, value, quality as well as speed.
Without them this process would have taken us much longer. We have learned a lot through this process about how we can improve in the future by having granular visibility into our carbon footprint.
Abdullah Ramay, CEO, Pablo & Rusty’s Coffee Roasters
Find out about…
- Becoming Climate Active carbon neutral.
- How to go about carbon offsetting.
- Inspiring businesses – more case studies.
* Emissions relating to the operation of Pablo & Rusty’s cafés are managed under a separate ABN and are outside of the operational boundary of this certification. Pablo & Rusty’s Climate Active Public Disclosure Summary can be found here.