Costa Coffee, Kenco, Mars Honored by Rainforest Alliance
Costa Coffee, the Kenco Coffee Company ad Mars Inc. are among the winners of Rainforest Alliance's Sustainability Standard-Setter Awards for 2011. Read More
UK chain Costa Coffee, the Kenco Coffee Company and Mars Inc. are among the companies and organizations who have been named Sustainability Standard-Setters this year by the Rainforest Alliance.
The nonprofit organization holds it annual Sustainability Standard-Setter award ceremony tomorrow and released the list of award winners today. The group strives to preserve rainforests, conserve biodiversity and foster sustainable livelihoods through responsible land-use and business practices and consumer behavior.
The 2011 Sustainability Standard-Setter honorees are:
- Costa Coffee, the largest and fastest-growing coffee chain in the United Kingdom, has committed to sourcing all of its beans from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms.
- The Kenco Coffee Company, now a Kraft UK brand, also is working to source 100 percent of its coffee from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. The company recently began selling coffee in Eco Refill packs that cut the packaging weight for each pound of coffee by 97 percent, compared to standard packaging.
- Mars Inc. is pursuing sustainability of its raw ingredients, including the cocoa used in its chocolate products. By 2020, Mars plans to source 100 percent of its cocoa from sustainable origins, including Rainforest Alliance Certified farms.
- Mexico’s Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources — National Forestry Commission.
- Eric Poncon, a business leader with long ties to sustainable coffee, forestry and tourism.
- The nonprofit group Mayan Palms.
- The Mayakoba Tourism Development in Mexico and the three hotels that comprise it: the Fairmont Mayakoba, Rosewood Mayakoba and Banyan Tree Mayakoba.
More information on the award winners and the Rainforest Alliance are available at rainforest-alliance.org. This year’s awards will be conferred at a gala whose co-chairs include celebrities Sigourney Weaver, Martha Stewart, Jane Alexander and Mary Stuart Masterson.
Credits for photo illustration elements: Image of Sustainability Standard-Setter Award by Silk Studio Inc. and Rainforest Alliance certification logo both via rainforest-alliance.org.
