Coffee By Design is now a Certified B Corporation®
PORTLAND, Maine – Coffee By Design, Maine’s largest independently owned and operated specialty coffee roastery, is pleased to announce that the company is a Certified B Corporation®. To date, there are 10 Maine businesses with this certification; worldwide there are over 1,600 Certified B Corporations from more than 120 industries in nearly 50 countries, all with the goal of redefining success in business by meeting higher standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. The performance standards B Corps meet are comprehensive, transparent and verified. Unlike traditional corporations, Certified B Corporations are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on all their stakeholders, including workers, suppliers, community, consumers, and the environment.
Co-owner and co-founder Mary Allen Lindemann spoke of the honor, saying, “We adhere to the “three legged stool model” for our business, emphasizing people, planet and profit. When we first opened our doors 22 years ago part of our focus was to support the community as a whole. Becoming a Certified B Corporation is a great milestone for us, reaffirming our commitment to how we do business, which has always been to consider how our decisions impact everything around us.”
Alan Spear, co-owner and co-founder, added, “Before we opened Coffee By Design I used my degree in landscape architecture to work on projects focused on wetland creation, planned community development, re-forestation and stream restoration.Those core interests have been used here at Coffee By Design as well, in particular with regard to our impact on the environment. Becoming a Certified B Corporation is in line with our company ethics.”
To become a Certified B Corporation, Coffee By Design had to be audited by B Lab, a non profit dedicated to the process of B Corp certification. The application process involved a review of Coffee By Design’s best practices, including the company’s coffee buying relationships, hiring, employee training, retail stores, roastery, shipping, packaging and community support. Coffee By Design’s commitment to this extends to their corporate regulations, which further state that any change in investors or ownership requires that these standards continue to be upheld.
Revision Energy, also a Maine Certified B Corporation company, and Coffee By Design are hosting a session about B Corp certification for interested businesses at Coffee By Design’s 1 Diamond Street location on Oct 27 from 6-8 p.m. Anyone interested in learning more should contact Jennifer Hatch at Revision Energy, jen@revisionenergy.com.
About Coffee By Design:
Coffee By Design, a Maine owned and operated coffee company since 1994, is dedicated to serving customers sustainably sourced, traceable, quality coffee. Owners Mary Allen Lindemann and Alan Spear were named Maine SBA Small Business Person of the Year, 2014. Coffee By Design operates a roastery and coffee house at One Diamond St, Portland, and has locations on Portland’s India St., Congress St. and Washington Ave. in addition to in Freeport at L.L. Bean. In addition to serving some of the world’s finest coffee, Coffee By Design is committed to supporting the arts, the environment, and the community. With over 450 select restaurant, cafes and gourmet stores and online retail sales, their coffee is enjoyed nationwide. For more information, go to www.coffeebydesign.com.
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