Going Green For National Clean Air Day 2023

With air pollution responsible for as many as 36,000 deaths in the UK every year, it is the largest environmental health risk currently facing our country.

National Clean Air Day was created by environmental charity Global Action Plan to raise awareness of the issue among the general public. By encouraging everyone from local authorities and schools to businesses and community groups to organise their own events, Global Action Plan hopes to get the country talking about the seriousness of air pollution and the ways in which we can combat it.

At Cafe2U, we're proud to do our bit for the benefit of the environment. In fact, our aim is to become the UK's first carbon neutral coffee company. So what exactly are our green credentials? Read on to find out!

We're a digital franchise

One thing you won't find much of around Cafe2U HQ and our franchisees' vans is paper. Operations at our head office are completely digitised and we no longer offer traditional loyalty cards or physical pamphlets - we have our own app which allows our customers to receive news, offers and updates digitally instead. By using less paper, we're keeping more trees in the ground where they can help remove harmful pollutants from the atmosphere.

Our vans are electric

Yep, all electric and 100% emission-free, with lithium-ion batteries instead of diesel generators. Furthermore, our electric vans have minimal moving parts and more effective brakes, so fewer replacement parts need manufacturing, reducing our overall greenhouse gas emissions even further.

When we switched from petrol powered to electric vans, we significantly reduced our CO² emissions overnight, and we're determined to keep looking for more opportunities to reduce our company's emissions even more over the coming years.

We're big on recycling

All our franchisees offer their customers the opportunity to recycle their paper cups to slow the rate at which new disposable cups are produced.

They also provide a coffee grounds recycling service, which helps counteract the 1.8 million tonnes of carbon emissions which are generated by the 500,000 tonnes of coffee waste that is disposed of in the UK annually. The initiative sees waste coffee grounds being recycled into biofuel pellets to power biomass boilers, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping keep the air cleaner.

Oh, and all our food products come in 100% recyclable packaging too!

Tackle air pollution with Cafe2U

While it's great to see more and more people becoming aware of the issue of air pollution and trying to do something about it, a huge amount of work still needs to be done if the UK is going to eradicate the problem permanently. 

If you're interested in investing in a clean, 100% emission-free franchise like Cafe2U, click here to find out more.

Franchising Resolutions For 2023

Resolutions are for the whole year, not just January, so we've compiled five top franchising tips for you to stick to in 2023 in order to take your business to the next level.

Become as sustainable as possible

Climate change awareness is higher than ever, so it's imperative for your franchise to reduce its carbon footprint to become as sustainable as possible without delay. With consumers increasingly unlikely to deal with any company that isn't overtly environmentally friendly, ensuring your franchise is as sustainable as possible has become non-negotiable if you want it to succeed.

While sustainability has rightly been a buzzword for franchises for many years already, 2023 could well be the year when record numbers of businesses become greener than ever, with shifts towards going paper-free by digitising records, using recycled/recyclable/reusable products and materials wherever possible and installing long-lasting LED light bulbs among the most common initiatives.

At Cafe2U, our zero-emission electric vans are helping us on our way to becoming the UK's first carbon neutral coffee company.

Get out and about

This might sound obvious for a mobile business but in order to increase the profitability of your franchise, it's worth getting off the beaten track every once in a while.

Every Cafe2U franchisee has an exclusive territory in which to operate but, no matter how well they know the area, untapped opportunities can often be found within it. If there's a good-sized park or sports field in your vicinity, find out if any upcoming events are taking place there as these will often provide you with an excellent opportunity to make new customers.

Freshen up your offering

It's no secret that customers quickly become bored if a franchise's product offering stays exactly the same every day. That's why it's so important to occasionally add new items to your menu to complement your perennial best-sellers to keep regular customers interested and attract new business.

Keep an eye out for opportunities like Easter, Halloween etc and offer products themed around them when the time comes. Our sweet and warming S'more mochas always go down a treat around Bonfire Night!

Plan for upcoming seasonal events

Do your research to make sure you're always prepared for any national holidays or awareness days that are just around the corner and can be targeted by your franchise. Bank Holidays are an obvious example as they can provide multiple catering opportunities for your franchise.

What this means is that you should be promoting your services now - whether it’s in person or online - to try and get some bookings in the diary. A simple Google search will also bring up a list of other relevant dates for you to note down and target. 

Ensure you're making the most of social media

It's one thing to be on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram but if you're not posting regularly and using them to interact with customers, you're missing a trick!

As well as allowing you to let people know when you'll be out and about - and where you'll be - social media also allows you to advertise any new drinks or snacks you're offering, answer customers' questions and build strong relationships with consumers.

Franchising opportunities with Cafe2U

If you're interested in changing careers or becoming your own boss, franchising is one of the most risk-free ways of doing so.

All our franchisees receive all the training and support they need to help make their business a success. If you're interested in investing in a Cafe2U franchise, click here for more information.

Sustainability and the Coffee Industry

Taking place once a year, National Vegetarian Week encourages the public to switch to a vegetarian diet for a week in order to reduce carbon emissions, protect endangered wildlife and increase awareness of the benefits and pleasures of a meat-free lifestyle.

As our beloved coffee beans are already vegetarian-friendly, you might be wondering what this has to do with Cafe2U. What you might not be aware of are the steps we've taken to reduce our impact on the environment so, inspired by National Vegetarian Week, we've decided to round-up some of the ways in which we've made our business as sustainable as possible.

Offering customers sustainable products

To help alleviate the problem of disposable coffee cups, we offer our customers reusable Keep Cups. It is estimated that over 600 billion disposable cups are used and discarded to landfill globally every year. By using long-lasting cups which are made from durable, environmentally friendly materials, we're helping reduce the number of paper cups being used by the coffee industry.

We've also stopped using disposable paper cups altogether and replaced them with fully compostable cups instead. As well as requiring less carbon to produce, compostable cups reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill and don't produce toxins when they break down, significantly reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. We've replaced all our plastic straws with biodegradable paper alternatives too.

Recycling

As well as offering a paper cup recycling scheme for customers who still use disposable cups, we've also launched a coffee grounds recycling initiative to counteract the 1.8 million tonnes of carbon emissions which are generated by the 500,000 tonnes of coffee waste disposed of in the UK every year. The initiative sees waste coffee grounds being recycled into bio-fuel pellets to power bio-mass boilers, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Going digital

In the last few years, we started doing away with paper. All files at head office have now been completely digitised and we've done away with traditional loyalty cards and physical pamphlets in favour of an app which allows our customers to receive news, offers and updates digitally instead, massively reducing the amount of paper we use.

Our partners and suppliers

We recently switched to an ethical and sustainable sandwich manufacturer to increase the range of products available to our customers. Real Wrap Co is the first food-to-go manufacturer in the world to achieve certified carbon negative status, meaning it removes more carbon from the atmosphere than it generates. It does this by supplying sandwiches in sustainable packaging which is plastic-free, 100% recyclable and sends zero waste to landfill.

We also have a long-standing partnership with a multi-certified ethical coffee roaster which uses traditional harvesting methods and cultivates long term relationships with its producers, buying from them year after year and paying sustainable prices significantly higher than the Fair Trade minimum.

Our vans

The most important sustainable change we've made in the last few years has been to our fleet of nearly 100 vans. First, we replaced their diesel generators with lithium-ion batteries, immediately reducing our emissions from in-van generators to zero. 

Then, in August 2021, we launched an all-new fleet of emission-free electric vehicles. By switching from petrol powered to electric vans, we expect to reduce our CO² emissions by a staggering 12,672g CO²/km per annum over time.

In addition to boasting zero emissions, the new vehicles are also silent, helping to combat noise pollution, and feature fewer moving parts and more effective brakes, meaning fewer replacement parts need manufacturing, reducing greenhouse gas emissions further still.

What plans do you have?

We're always looking for new ways to reduce our carbon footprint so we think National Vegetarian Week is a great idea and one we're firmly behind. If you're planning to go meat-free this week or have any other great sustainable ideas, let us know on our social media channels!

Cafe2U's Green Coffee Fortnight 2021

Now in its third year, Green Coffee Fortnight is an annual event designed by Cafe2U to raise awareness of environmentally-friendly practices in the coffee industry and encourage more people to adopt sustainable coffee drinking habits. This year's event will take place from Monday, September 27th, until Sunday, October 10th.

To celebrate, we're running down the new environmentally-friendly initiatives we're adopting at Cafe2U.

Compostable paper cups

You may have seen that we've already kicked off this year's celebrations by unveiling the world's first all electric coffee van, which will help reduce our CO2 emissions and carbon footprint. But that's not all - to help minimise our paper use, we're also launching a range of compostable paper cups.

Compostable cups are biodegradable, so they can be composted or recycled, reducing waste and ensuring fewer items are sent to landfill. And with people in the UK drinking approximately 95 million cups of coffee every day, we need to convince consumers to move away from single use cups as soon as possible.

Our new compostable cups are available from your local Cafe2U van now.

Reusable cup giveaway

Everybody likes something for nothing so, for the duration of Green Coffee Fortnight, we're giving our incredible reusable cups away free with certain purchases!

Please note this offer varies depending on your location so find your nearest Cafe2U van here and get in touch to find out how you can claim your reusable cup.

Coffee grounds recycling scheme

Throughout Green Coffee Fortnight, we're giving customers the opportunity to take our used coffee grounds away with them absolutely free.

Normally, used coffee grounds are thrown in the bin, where they end up as landfill or in an incinerator. However, neither option is good for the environment, which is why we want to let more people know that they can also be recycled, reducing harmful greenhouse gases and giving your latte a second life.

Used coffee grounds have a number of uses, including:

1. repelling insects. Simply put the used grounds in a bowl outside and burn them like incense. The grounds are very potent and will drive pests away in no time.

2. making a useful fertiliser. Sprinkling used grounds - which are packed with key nutrients - on the soil surrounding your plants will encourage them to grow quicker.

3. helping compost heaps. By adding some used grounds to your compost heap, you'll improve its structure and attract worms, which speed up the process by turning food scraps into compost.

4. eliminating smells. A handful of used coffee grounds in your fridge will absorb food odours and ensure your meals taste like they should.

5. cleaning your pans. A couple of spoonfuls of used coffee grounds are abrasive enough to clean the dirtiest of pans - just apply the grounds to a cloth and get scrubbing! Remember to check a small area of the pan first to make sure the grounds don't stain the surface.

Going paper free

Switching to compostable paper cups is just one part of our move towards becoming completely paper free by 2022. 

In addition to the paper cups, we're also:

• digitising all our files at head office

• switching from print to digital advertising, and

• doing away with the old loyalty card system in favour of a digital version accessible via the Cafe2U app.

We need your help!

Supporting our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint is easy - simply pick up a reusable or compostable cup next time you visit your local Cafe2U van and, if you could use some, take some of our used grounds away with you. You'll be helping us help the planet!

Find your nearest Cafe2U van here.