December Newsletter

Life is chaotic and often stressful. Your coffee might be the short bit of calm you have in a day, just before you pick the kids up from school, as you are rushing to work or meeting with a friend. You don’t need the added guilt of your individual impact on the climate with every sip. So we are going to do the hard thinking to let you relax over your cuppa. 

Don’t get us wrong, we don’t have the answers but we want to rethink the way cafés are run. As a predominately takeaway café,  this will be pretty difficult  - compostable cups are still single use after all and they cost the planet a lot. No matter the material, single-use is always single-use in reality and will be absolutely minimised at Native where possible. In this newsletter, we want to showcase to you all of the ways we are implementing our sustainable practices and encouraging our community to make better choices.

Our Reusable Cup Campaign

Anyone who brings their reusable cup to Native will automatically receive a 20p discount on their coffee. We will have reusable cups for retail at the Kiosk from Huskee, who do incredible work for our planet. You can enjoy a FREE coffee while you pat yourself on the back after purchasing your Huskee cup. Huskee have an amazing calculatory feature on their website for anyone who may be interested in seeing for themselves the impact that an individual, corporation or café has on the environment. Huskee also have an initiative called HuskeeSWAP - A scheme that allows customers with a Huskee cup to SWAP or BORROW their cups when they haven’t had a chance to clean it or forgot it at home! (This is ideal for those trying really hard but with a million things to do so the coffee cup is always forgotten!)

Below is the staggering difference you can make by using your reusable cup as someone who buys 5 takeaway coffees per week, over a 12 month period. I know what you're thinking - 5 coffees? Try 20! 

For those looking to hang around for a while, have a chat and check out what we have on offer that day in our community space, we will have some pretty ceramic cups to further discourage single use!

Coffee Supplier

We source our coffee from Group

work, who are based in Castlewellan.They deliver our coffee in reusable buckets, reducing single use packaging waste. Groupwork operate on a near direct trade basis, meaning that the farmer is 100% compensated for the efforts required to produce such quality speciality coffee.

Packaging Alternatives

All of our packaging is certified as compostable through the European Standard EN 13432. Our sugars stored are in jars with no individual sachet packaging or stirrers. 

Waste management

We provide separated recycling and general waste bins outside the kiosk and we hope to use our space as an example to business in Belfast and work together to seek out the correct, up-to-date information. We will also host Climate Cafés and

information evenings for similar businesses, organisations and individuals, with talks from experts in the sustainability field.

Circular Economy Model

Resources will be used efficiently and waste is minimised through reuse, repair, and 

recycling. For example, we offload our coffee grounds to Niall at the The Gardeners Kitchen for his compost. Additionally, as a mobile coffee shop, we currently operate with a limited water supply. We have also infested in a more energy efficient espresso machine.

Dairy Alternatives

The alternative milks used are solely sourced from companies complying with ethical standards. Affordable pricing for alternative milks encourages customers to make a better choice while also making alternative milks more accessible to those where it is essential. The below graphic details why by opting for alternative milk over dairy promotes a positive behavioural change.

Active Travel

Native employees actively travel to work reducing our carbon footprint. We have acquired a trailer for our bikes,  enabling our local deliveries to be powered by coffee - not petrol! Our location is ideal for active travellers for the city with nearby bike parking and huge potential for walking/cycling groups! 

Locally Sourced Goods 

At Native we have partnered with businesses who share a similar ethos where packaging, sourcing and ethical production is concerned. We are delighted to support local, while also reducing our footprint with transportation.

Here are some examples of local goods on offer:

• Groupwork coffee roasted in Castlewellan 
• The AMAZING Kin & Folk goods baked in Saintfield
• Chala Chai made in Belfast 
• Refuge Hot Chocolate made Belfast and is a social enterprise   
• Happy Out Café sausage rolls made in East Belfast
• Bakarí’s fresh bakes are made in Belfast City Centre
• Kombucha from Steeper Culture, brewed here in Belfast

Now, enough about us! Here is how you can help: 

• Please for the love of the planet - BRING YOUR REUSABLE CUP!
• Buy our local products - support local business
• If you have seen/heard/done anything that you think we can adopt to make our space greener, please get in touch!
• We are open to collaborations on events such as speakers, active travel tours and swap shops, again, please get in touch!

We realise that there is a long way to go in terms of reducing carbon emissions. Currently, the food and beverage industry accounts for around 30% of global emissions, highlighting how important it is that we put a massive focus on this. The below image shows how each element of running a coffee shop is impacting the environment. It takes a village - the owners, employees, customers, and suppliers to do their bit for notable change!

This space is for you, the Belfast community, so let’s work together to make it a better place for all and generations to come. We cannot wait to open our doors VERY soon and begin building relationships with you all!

Happy Sipping!

The Team @ Native