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Merlo Coffee is on a mission to obtain carbon neutrality, and to get there, Head of Operations Simon Brooks reflects on its sustainability endeavours.

Brisbane-based coffee company Merlo Coffee is turning up the heat on its sustainability goals, making a very deliberate effort to become more environmentally friendly in all its business practices.

Merlo’s Head of Operations Simon Brooks says this includes everything from discounts on reusable cups and compostable packaging, to recently installed solar panels at several facilities.

“Sustainability has become a buzz word in recent years, and people are increasingly looking to companies to implement sustainable business practices. There’s no reason for businesses to not try and do the most for the environment and do their part here in Australia,” says Simon.

“Our goal this year is to reduce our emissions even further, firstly by reintroducing reusable cups back into the marketplace as COVID-19 subsides.”

To incentivise customers, Merlo is offering a free coffee on purchase and $0.50 savings on refills for customers that use a reusable cup.

Merlo is determined to keep more than three million takeaway cups out of landfill. To help reach its goal, sustainable packaging company BioPak has introduced fully compostable, eco-friendly packaging for Merlo customers.

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“Our goal this year is to reduce our emissions even further, firstly by reintroducing reusable cups back into the marketplace as COVID-19 subsides.”

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“Compostable BioCups from BioPak are the first and only products of their kind to be certified carbon neutral, B Corp, and commercially compostable to Australia and New Zealand standards. It allows customers to make a big difference through their choices,” says Simon.

“Now you can do something good for the earth by dropping a Merlo BioCup in our collection bins outside any Merlo Coffee store. These cups and lids will be combined with Merlo’s coffee grounds, food scraps and packaging and in less than 12 weeks, the by-product is utilised as a nutrient rich compost.”

Merlo’s BioPak cups use Ingeo polylactide bioplastics, which utilise a number of renewable resources such as plant oils, cellulose, starches, sugars, carbohydrates, bacteria and algae. This results in 75 per cent less greenhouse gases than conventional plastics.

“We distribute around five million cups per year from our warehouse, which is a huge amount of landfill. That’s a major reason why we partnered with BioPak, to make sure we reduce our wastage and do as little damage as possible to the environment,” Simon says.