Costa Coffee Wins ‘Most Ethical Brand Award’

The UK’s leading coffee franchise giant kicks off 2018 with the ‘Most Ethical Brand’ award.

As independent coffee growers from all over Europe gathered at the Allegra Coffee symposium in Warsaw, contenders crossed fingers and held breathes waiting for the winner to be announced. Hold and behold, Costa Coffee was announced the winner of the title of ‘Most Ethical Brand’. Over 500 trade professionals across the coffee sector voted for the highly competitive category and Costa Coffee won over many strong contenders from the independent coffee market. The UK’s favourite coffee shop was recognised for its ambitious and impactful Sustainability programme called ‘Force For Good’.

Costa Coffee’s Sustainability programme ‘Force For Good’ is responsible for:

• the opening of a new award winning sustainable Roastery in Basildon, Essex that was rated ‘Outstanding’ by BREEAM with a score of 89.1%
• the launch of the cup recycling scheme in all UK stores that recovers and recycles all takeaway paper cups from Costa, competitors and independent
• the WISE programme that provides opportunities for people to embark on progressive journeys of self-improvement and personal development with Costa via programmes such as Work Experience Placement Employment Placements and Apprenticeships
• supporting the Costa Foundation to fund the construction of 75 schools and the improvement of the social and economic welfare of coffee-growing communities through education. Costa Coffee recently celebrated its 10th birthday anniversary by opening a school in its 10th market – Zambia.

Costa Charity and Community manager, Sandy Gourlay, in her acceptance speech said: “This award is incredible recognition for all the work that our teams are doing all over the world to make a positive difference to the environment, and communities near and far.”

Costa Coffee has been the award winning “Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain in the UK and Ireland” for seven consecutive years from 2010 through 2016. The UK’s favourite coffee shop has over 2,000 shops in the UK and more than 1,240 worldwide, across 30 overseas markets. Found n 1971 by the Costa brothers, Costa Coffee attributes its success to the quality of their original Mocha Italia recipe with 100% Rainforest Alliance certified coffee and the people who are at the heart of their business. The award-winning coffee franchise employs over 30,000 people worldwide and aims to generate 5,000 new jobs in the UK alone by 2020.