THE FLYING CLOUD ECO-DISCOVERY TOUR 

In the tiny but fortunate town of Waterbury, VT which is also the home of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, resides the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) distribution center and primary roasting facility.  GMCR is a rapidly growing coffee company with a conscience, and we stopped by to see their operations, learn more about their efforts, and enjoy a good cup of coffee!

Their visitor’s center is located in a quaint old train station right in the middle of town.  We were met there by Maureen Martin from their PR Department and were quickly joined by several other members of their sustainability department staff.  While we were there, a small group of school children was getting “coffee 101” from one of their community outreach associates, and we were fortunate to sit in on the class and listen as the kids interacted with the animated presentation, popping up their hands eagerly to ask and answer questions.

On of the latest additions to their efforts to reduce energy consumption and the overall carbon footprint of their operations is a new solar panel installation on the roof of their main building.  With 572 panels, this installation will make a substantial contribution to those efforts averaging over 9% of their total power requirements.  Similar to the installation we saw at Organic Valley, the GMCR system also has a sophisticated computerized tracking system and we watched with delight as the readout gave not only the current output on the system, but a host of other data about its performance.  GMCR is acutely aware that coffee roasting by its nature uses significant amounts of energy and it considers this just another step in their ongoing plans to minimize that impact.  As part of this program they are also offering their employees a discount program for installing solar panels on their homes.

They also have instituted and support a wide range of initiatives in areas of corporate responsibility, social equity, fair trade practices, waste reduction and mitigation, workplace volunteerism, and a host of other programs designed for continuous improvement.  Their Corporate Social  Responsibility Report is a shining example of transparency in operations and is available online at: www.greenmountainroasters.com