Head back to the most recent report here
- BLUE SPARROW COFFEE -
RESOURCES
If you want to cite our report--don't worry, we've done the work for you:
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Blue Sparrow Coffee, 2021 "Sustainability" Report, (2022), https://www.bluesparrowcoffee.com/2021-sustainability-report
Blue Sparrow Coffee, 2022 "Sustainability" Report, (2023), https://www.bluesparrowcoffee.com/2022-sustainability-report
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Blue Sparrow Coffee, 2023 "Sustainability" Report, (2024), https://www.bluesparrowcoffee.com/2023-sustainability-report
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Recycling and Waste Reduction
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What Can be Recycled (https://www.denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/trash-and-recycling/recycling/what-can-be-recycled.html)
The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics & Catalysing Action (https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/the-new-plastics-economy-rethinking-the-future-of-plastics-and-catalysing)
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New Changes to Compost Collection Guidelines (https://denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Recycle-Compost-Trash/Compost#:~:text=Denver%20Composts%20is%20a%20weekly,included%20at%20no%20additional%20fee.)
The State of Recycling & Composting in Colorado: 2021 (https://copirg.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/State%20of%20Recycling%20and%20Composting%20in%20Colorado%202021_Eco-Cycle_CoPIRG_final.pdf)
Colorado will likely miss its recycling goals again this year. What will it take to change the tide of waste? (https://coloradosun.com/2021/04/22/colorado-recycling-goals-2021-change-tide-waste/)
Glass can be recycled infinitely. Here’s how it works in Colorado’s “closed loop.” (https://coloradosun.com/2021/04/22/glass-recycling-infinite-colorado-closed-loop/)
Recycling in the U.S. Is Broken. How Do We Fix It? (https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/03/13/fix-recycling-america/)
Circular Claims Fall Flat: Comprehensive U.S. Survey of Plastics Recyclability (https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Greenpeace-Report-Circular-Claims-Fall-Flat.pdf)
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EPA Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures Report Page (https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/advancing-sustainable-materials-management)
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Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures Report: December 2020 (https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-01/documents/2018_ff_fact_sheet_dec_2020_fnl_508.pdf)
Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: 2018 Tables and Figures (https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-01/documents/2018_tables_and_figures_dec_2020_fnl_508.pdf)
How This Town Produces No Trash (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eym10GGidQU)
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Single-Use Initiative
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Disposable Cup Charge (https://issuu.com/hubbubuk/docs/hubbub_starbucks_coffee_cup_charge_?fr=sZDM3YzI4NjgxNzE)
Why consumers shift from single-use to reusable drink cups: An empirical application of the stage model of self-regulated behavioral change (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352550921001135?casa_token=1Z58hpcAUn0AAAAA:o832W0Kk60B_qJ4BCP6Pq5l6KcNQ58zO3u-agL2qyoRszxtyZ40DKbHLHwxtDTbmrmyW58Y3zcw#bib0037)
How small daily choices play a huge role in climate change: The disposable paper cup environmental bane (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652620303413?casa_token=R2Ldvcw1k7sAAAAA:yAWNq9HBpCFVUSNSZpeAobx_aZxidRCilh29UKl17AeYgeaSckWOA_x95-bTKnXWjfxxpftM9Ro)
Assessment of the environmental break-even point for deposit return systems through an LCA analysis of single-use and reusable cups (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352550920313762?casa_token=7tokQtLKN_gAAAAA:_TWUp6eCXG7y7wj16ayGxsYBradiYM8fG93AIGLWgpT7rCVntS0NQ-MbW6p4ZzrqQUGpSVPtBzw#fig0001)
The Behavioral Economics of Recycling (https://hbr.org/2016/10/the-behavioral-economics-of-recycling)
Why Bag Laws Work: A Summary of Plastic Bag Law Effectiveness (https://www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog/entry/why-bag-bans-work-a-summary-of-plastic-bag-law-effectiveness)
The dilemma of plastic bags and their substitutes: A review on LCA studies (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352550921003341?casa_token=91YvSKAX3X8AAAAA:hhMV7_vurqxh0XuEeC2iTzNZI7g7BX2lSF1mc7DVUn8dHlwtRxdTN93NCsOn6fJxEv9v-c3add0)
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Circular Design
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Bringing Reusable Packaging Systems to Life (https://www.closedlooppartners.com/closed-loop-partners-releases-groundbreaking-report-on-the-pathway-to-scale-for-reusable-packaging-models/)
Soil-to-soil Packaging (https://driftaway.coffee/packaging/)
10 Principles of Circular Design (https://www.nikecirculardesign.com/guides/MiniGuide.pdf)
This new Shanghai Starbucks has only reusable cups—and reusable everything else (https://www.fastcompany.com/90678150/this-new-shanghai-starbucks-has-only-reusable-cups-and-reusable-everything-else)
What is a circular economy? (https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview?gclid=CjwKCAiA4KaRBhBdEiwAZi1zzjCT0I0L-w0JY1i4RNkAviEnB7Wk-nJ5sEaG_IaUAGN2LT4X70uhnhoCwQgQAvD_BwE)
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Other Coffee Reports and Sustainability Work
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Stumptown Sustainability Report (https://www.stumptowncoffee.com/blogs/news/stumptowns-first-ever-sustainability-and-impact-report)
Julius Meinl Sustainability Report 2019 & 2020 (https://juliusmeinlgmbhmedia.blob.core.windows.net/mediaprod/sharedmedia/juliusmeinl/juliusmeinlcontent/optimized%20images/documents/julius-meinl-sustainability-report-2019_2020.pdf)
Nossa Familia Coffee Sustainability & Transparency Report 2018-2019 (https://issuu.com/nossafamiliacoffee/docs/sustainability-report-2018-19_nossa)
Coffee is in Crisis: Biota Coffee (https://www.biotacoffee.com/about-biota-coffee)
Sustainability at Driftaway Coffee (https://driftaway.coffee/sustainability/)
Starbucks 2018 Environmental Baseline Report (https://stories.starbucks.com/uploads/2020/01/Starbucks-Environmental-Baseline-Report-2.pdf)
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Ampersand Coffee & Environmental Sustainability (https://www.ampersand-coffee.com/aboutampersand)
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Industry Comparisons
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Restaurant Energy Use Benchmarking Guideline (https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy11osti/50547.pdf)
Sustainability strategies by companies in the global coffee sector (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bse.2596)
Coffee Barometer 2020 (https://coffeebarometer.org/)
The Sustainable Coffee Company (https://sustainablecoffeecompany.com.au/sustainable-coffee-supplies/)
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Organic and Fair Trade Coffee
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Do smallholder farmers benefit from sustainability standards? A systematic review and meta-analysis (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2211912420300262?via%3Dihub)
Coffee consumption and purchasing behavior review: Insights for further research (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666318305142?casa_token=Z4iNe0KQvyUAAAAA:gKd-mnxCPEbb8_9WLwdjwM_8ZQH9v56dWVX1TaLLtb_reh_vH4p5J-nEqTsCOpXF3r1Csmykxmw)
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Milk and Its Alternatives
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Climate change: Which vegan milk is best? (https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46654042)
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Almonds are out. Dairy is a disaster. So what milk should we drink? (https://www.theguardian.com/ environment/2020/jan/28/what-plant-milk-should-i-drink-almond-killing-bees-aoe)
Assessing the carbon footprint across the supply chain: Cow milk vs soy drink (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969721062781?casa_token=qPCwxFYB-RUAAAAA:TIYxftvfHW8QUEtf67e_e7PGA8295nr1h3LhYu01hHFbN4KpCGdowPvVZ9SEeZ5wcHmenjOs3OU)
Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers (https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:b0b53649-5e93-4415-bf07-6b0b1227172f/download_file?file_format=pdf&safe_filename=Reducing_foods_environment_impacts_Science%2B360%2B6392%2B987%2B-%2BAccepted%2BManuscript.pdf&type_of_work=Journal+article)
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Regenerative Agriculture and Carbon Sequestration
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The Big Food Redesign Study
(https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/the-big-food-redesign-study)
Table of Solutions
(https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/table-of-solutions)
Carbon Sequestration Basics
(https://rodaleinstitute.org/why-organic/issues-and-priorities/carbon-sequestration/)
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Regenerative Agriculture and the Soil Carbon Solution (https://rodaleinstitute.org/education/resources/regenerative-agriculture-and-the-soil-carbon-solution/)
An introduction to Regenerative Organic Agriculture (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0OZi44FLtM)
Regenerative Agriculture 101
(https://www.nrdc.org/stories/regenerative-agriculture-101)
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One Colorado farmer is going against the grain to use less water. It’s working. (https://coloradosun.com/2022/02/13/regenerative-agriculture-colorado-water/)
What Is the Difference Between Organic and Regenerative Agriculture? (https://www.noble.org/regenerative-agriculture/organic-vs-regenerative-agriculture/?utm_term=what%20is%20organic%20agriculture&utm_campaign=National+-+Consumer&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=7474336878&hsa_cam=10697792127&hsa_grp=115358033021&hsa_ad=502419583376&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-298440363358&hsa_kw=what%20is%20organic%20agriculture&hsa_mt=b&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=Cj0KCQiA64GRBhCZARIsAHOLriK-7bEY07efnhaGMaaHPQqRr58T4uHNgLCyAO1xx2CXk7VpEPHzIycaAs0XEALw_wcB)
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Composting
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Life cycle environmental sustainability of valorisation routes for spent coffee grounds: From waste to resources (https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0921344920300732?token=658BEDE9A660921677B54C017BBC86AC762F3CC1D8B59E811175DF911DB688FA6DB4B409EF83A8F502D3F1EEF4E2C1BD&originRegion=us-east-1&originCreation=20220225225641)
Composting 101
(https://www.nrdc.org/stories/composting-101)
Reducing the Impact of Wasted Food by Feeding the Soil and Composting (https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/reducing-impact-wasted-food-feeding-soil-and-composting)
Benefits of Compost
(https://www.compostingcouncil.org/page/CompostBenefits)
Converting environmental risks to benefits by using spent coffee grounds (SCG) as a valuable resource (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-018-2359-6)
Evaluation of three composting systems for the management of spent coffee grounds (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960852411007589?casa_token=oAnNDFzZgqMAAAAA:CwUjWrtKqUME_EhdkV76mfNguCq8vKUQwV-f-4xhiz6e8l4leMgvcrcFEqg5a6Iz0nb2Wq55PeU)
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Carbon Footprint
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Climate change food calculator: What's your diet's carbon footprint? (https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46459714)
Carbon footprint of different methods of coffee preparation (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352550921001160?casa_token=LRUTJv-wvlwAAAAA:v07KTk79OHyoAJ1xaQYubpeLcmBZ_Xz15GG6x6jqTnVXT1jwAds7XrxT2KEOs90tX3sH4Udv4fs)
Life cycle assessment synthesis of the carbon footprint of Arabica coffee: Case study of Brazil and Vietnam conventional and sustainable coffee production and export to the United Kingdom
(https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/geo2.96)
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Callout Statistics​
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Football Field Sprinkler Systems (https://turffactorydirect.com/2022/07/07/football-field-sprinkler-systems/)
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Climate change: Which vegan milk is best? (https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46654042)
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Keep Reading
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A New Report Divulges Denverites’ Food Waste Habits (https://www.5280.com/2018/01/now-know-little-bit-denverites-waste-food-thanks-new-report/)
How Much Food Are You Wasting? (https://www.5280.com/2016/10/how-much-food-are-you-wasting/)
Estimating Quantities and Types Of Food Waste At The City Level (https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/food-waste-city-level-report.pdf)
2020 Sustainable Market Share Index (https://www.stern.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2020%20Sustainable%20Market%20Share%20Index.pdf)
Environmental impacts of takeaway food containers (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652618336230?via%3Dihub)