We’re committed to operating an ethical and sustainable business, so that we can continue doing what we love to do, with a good conscience and for the long haul.
We have a well rounded team who contribute to decision making, and the three aspects of sustainability - environmental, social and financial - are a consideration for any project, product or process we undertake.
While coffee supply inherently presents challenges to all aspects of sustainability, these are some of the ways we contribute positively.
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The best way to approach waste management is to avoid creating it in the first place.
This is why we always have, and always will, offer options for our customers to purchase our coffee free of disposable packaging. For retail customers, this is the 250g coffee tin, which is incentivised with a $1 discount for in store coffee purchases. For wholesale customers, we offer (and encourage) 8kg tubs that are reusable and have a long lifespan.
We have also installed Juggler milk tap systems at our Brunswick East and South Melbourne Market locations. We receive our milk in 10L bladders rather than 1-2L bottles. This has greatly reduced our plastic waste and helped to minimize milk wastage with its precise dosing capabilities.
We - of course - accept reusable cups in all our stores.
Where producing waste is unfortunately unavoidable, we manage it as best we can.
We recycle cardboard and mixed recyclables at every location. At our Noosa location, milk bottles are returned to our milk supplier.
We have partnered with Reground to manage coffee, chaff and soft plastic waste at our Brunswick East cafe and HQ. Reground is a local business that reframes waste as a resource, collecting coffee waste and soft plastics from businesses and delivering them to commercial and domestic end-users. We were one of the first coffee businesses in Melbourne to support Reground, and we’re proud of the impact that partnership has already had. So far we’ve diverted 28,270kgs of ground coffee, 4,100kg of chaff and 2,835kgs of soft plastic from landfill. This has helped us to avoid putting 53,713kgs of toxic greenhouse gases into the atmosphere!
We have partnered with Corio Wast Management at our Brunswick East location to collect our other organic and food waste, including compostable Biopak packaging, which is turned into compost.
At our South Melbourne Market location, coffee grounds are turned into plant fertiliser via the market’s Gaia recycling unit. The market also provides a coffee cup recycling program.
At our Noosa location, ground coffee and chaff waste is redirected to make mulch for a local farm.
In Melbourne, we donate hessian coffee sacks to Ceres in Brunswick East, for use in their community garden. If you’re a home user in need of hessian sacks, drop us a line and we’ll set some aside for you to pick up - from either of our Victorian or Queensland HQs.
Single use packaging is unfortunately difficult to avoid these days, so we consider the impact of packaging for any new product we introduce.
Our coffee is packaged in recyclable soft plastic bags, which can be recycled at any RedCycle collection point, or return them to any of our stores.
Our Padre Coffee branded takeaway cups and lids are made by Biopak from bioplastic sourced from rapidly-renewable plant sources like corn rather than finite fossil fuels. This material requires 52% less energy to produce and has a carbon footprint 71.8% lower than regular plastic. Both cups and lids are commercially compostable - check with your local council if you can pop them in your greens bin!
We have partnered with Corio Waste Management at our Brunswick East location to take care our our organic waste, so we can accept your used Biopak Padre Coffee compostable cups and lids in store. The South Melbourne market also provides a coffee cup recycling program.
We are a proud member of Plastic Free Noosa.
We first installed solar panels at our Noosa cafe and roastery in December 2018, and as of 2021 we have a 30kW system at the cafe/roastery and another 15kW system on our non-public facing warehouse/office space.
For the 2020-21 financial year, we averaged 61% self sufficiency, helping us to avoid an approximate average of 30 tonnes of C02 emissions annually!
We have always been a 100% Specialty Coffee business, meaning every coffee - whether it be a single origin, a blend component or in a pod - is Specialty grade. This not only ensures that our products are of extremely high quality, but ensures that the farmers and producers are paid a fair and sustainable price.
We work closely with our green brokers to build long standing relationships throughout the supply chain. And we’re committed to creating positive social and environmental impacts at origin through our Good Coffee Doing Good program. Read more about the projects that we’ve contributed to here.
Furthermore, a big part of what we do is help to educate our customers - both retail and wholesale - about every aspect of coffee supply. We don’t engage in price wars or undercutting and we’re transparent about our approach to wholesale supply.
We are committed to building mutually beneficial relationships throughout the supply chain and we value working with people and companies who are aligned in values and approach.
We have a dedicated and well rounded team who contribute to decision making, and we consider the triple bottom line in every product we represent and supplier we work with.
Our wholesale and retail offering is holistic, and we offer more than just coffee beans. Rather we support and guide our customers to get the best from the product, and to understand as much as they want to know about coffee brewing and production.
For wholesale customers, we can assist with retailing, workflow, training and education and equipment and servicing. To find out more about our wholesale offering, submit an enquiry!
People are at the heart of our company and we’re committed to building a workplace culture that supports personal development, health, collaboration and teamwork.
We have a talented team of people working with us across our Noosa and Melbourne bases. Each member of the team brings their unique set of skills, experiences and approaches to create an extremely balanced, enthusiastic and committed crew.
If you love coffee and love people, we invite you to apply to work with us!
We believe that a strong community is socially connected, engaged, inclusive, collaborative, healthy and diverse. We’re committed to supporting the communities in which we operate and we’re always open to suggestions on how we can lend a hand. Find out more about our community partnerships.
Launched in 2020, Good Coffee Doing Good is our project-based fundraising initiative that draws on the collective power of specialty coffee lovers to create positive social and environmental impacts.
In addition to raising funds for a range of worthy causes, Good Coffee Doing Good also serves to shine a light on the many social and environmental issues that are faced by the global coffee industry, and particularly those faced by farmers and producers at origin.
Funds are raised through product sales: a percentage of the sale price of all products in the Good Coffee Doing Good range are donated to the current cause.
Find out more about Good Coffee Doing Good or contribute by purchasing products that wear the Good Coffee Doing Good logo.
Padre Coffee acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continued connections to land, sea and community.
We pay our respect to Elders past, present and future, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
