Our journey to becoming a sustainable green business
When we began Retrograde, we knew we had to incorporate the same eco-friendly lifestyle we were already living into our business practices. As two California natives, we grew up aware of the effects of climate change and have only seen them worsen during our lives. We've witnessed periods of rolling "brown-outs" in the summer, lived through many dry winters and extreme droughts. Most recently, we experienced the effects of climate change when the 2017 Northern California firestorm destroyed parts of our community in Santa Rosa. In following years, we experienced destructive flooding from increasingly wet winters in Sebastopol.
The message is clear: there needs to be change. It's not only the consumer's responsibility but the responsibility of every single company too. This is why we have decided to take the steps to become a California certified green business and share what we're doing (still in the process of becoming certified). It's our hope that we can inspire people and other companies to take progressive steps to be sustainable. We know that sustainability lies in our hands with our daily practices.
Below is more information about what we're doing to be green.
The message is clear: there needs to be change. It's not only the consumer's responsibility but the responsibility of every single company too. This is why we have decided to take the steps to become a California certified green business and share what we're doing (still in the process of becoming certified). It's our hope that we can inspire people and other companies to take progressive steps to be sustainable. We know that sustainability lies in our hands with our daily practices.
Below is more information about what we're doing to be green.
Our Commitment
Waste Reduction:
- All of our to-go items are recyclable or compostable.
This includes cups, straws, lids, boxes, utensils, bags for coffee beans and you-name-it! - We offer guest incentives for bringing your own cup and containers for food or coffee beans.
Bring your own cup or food container for 25 cents off. Bring your own container for $1 off your coffee beans. - Empty burlap coffee bags are donated to True Grass Farms.
They use them in the garden beds as an organic weed suppressant and say it works great! - Chaff, a parchment like by-product of coffee roasting is collected and donated to Meandering Farmer's.
It's used as bedding in their chicken coop and acts as a natural chicken litter. - Coffee is roasted multiple times a week based on demand.
This allows us to commit to serving coffee that's always fresh in our cafe too and not let anything go to waste. - Used coffee grounds are composted and donated to Randall, a local bamboo farmer.
- Food by-product is collected for a local family rancher named Tucker.
His pigs, sheep and goats love eating our nutritious food that would otherwise be wasted. Composted food items include: hemp-coconut pulp, egg shells, unusable produce pieces, etc. - Less than half of a percent of goods (coffee, food, beverages, ingredients etc) are wasted.
All food waste is tracked and analyzed with the goal of reducing waste for the next month. - Leftover deli meats are donated to the Sonoma County Humane Society.
Their training department loves using our pastrami, turkey and bacon for scrumptious dog treats.
- We buy fresh local and organic whenever possible.
Our goal is to support smaller family farms that use organic and biodynamic methods. - We offer a curated selection of wellness drinks with a health focus.
We also offer vegan, probiotic, gluten-free, sugar-free and paleo friendly options. - A selection of our coffees are certified organic in addition to all of our loose leaf teas.
Although not all are certified organic due to prohibitive circumstances (location, cost), most coffee farmer's cannot afford to use pesticides and prefer to use organic farmings methods. Through our importers, we are able to buy from coffee farmer's that are not using harmful practices - We pay above Fair Trade minimums for coffee.
Presently, the Fair Trade price for coffee is $1.40. We pay nearly double that with prices per pound starting at $2.80 with our average price per lb exceeding $3. To be sustainable, farmer's need higher wages to reinvest in their farm, continue to grow high quality coffee and receive more money, plus support their communities.
- Leftover water is collected to water our plants and outdoor patio garden.
This includes leftover water from guests, pre-heating cups and teapots, rinsing coffee filters, etc. - All sink faucets are equipped with low-flow aerators to save water.
This saves between 2-16 gallons a day! - We elect to use local 100% renewable energy through Sonoma Clean Power.
Learn more or sign up for EverGreen here - Energy use is lowered during times of high demand.
When there's a flex alert we raise the AC to 78 degrees and turn off unnecessary lights and equipment. Sign up for Flex Alerts here.
Lastly, team education is vital for us to make sustainability commitments like the ones listed above. We spend time educating our team members on all of our sustainability commitments. They're what makes our efforts possible - together we all consciously make decisions to create a greener cafe environment and a greener world. You can do it too!
This is a simplified list of information we found to be most relevant to share with guests but there's plenty more we're doing to be eco-friendly, like using LED light bulbs and low-flow toilets. If you have suggestions, questions or want to learn more from us about what you can do to be eco-friendly, please reach out! We want to meet you.
