ROGERS FAMILY CO. EARNS LEADING MAGAZINE’S 2014 “SUPPLIER PACESETTER” AWARD AS ONE OF NATION’S MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE COFFEE COMPANIES

“Store Brands” magazine honors Lincoln, CA-based gourmet coffee roaster’s commitment to sustainable production and operation

   LINCOLN, CALIFORNIA (October 27, 2014)  –Years before “green” emerged as marketing’s favorite color, The Rogers Family Company ensured that environmental responsibility was a core ingredient in its Fairly Traded gourmet coffee and tea.

The Lincoln, California-based company’s dedication to sustainability has earned it a 2014 “Supplier Pacesetter” Award as one of the nation’s most environmentally responsible suppliers of store brands gourmet coffee following an extensive study by a leading industry publication.  “Store Brands” magazine singled out The Rogers Family Company for the award from among coffee/tea companies that provide store brand products to North American retailers.

The magazine conducted its own research and tallied votes from retailers across North America in tapping the Rogers Family Company as one of only nine companies to earn a Pacesetter Award.  The Rogers Family Company – a family-owned and operated international roaster, packager, supplier, grower and seller of gourmet coffee products – won in the “Responsible Ingredient or Raw Material Sourcing” category.

However, Store Brands magazine Managing Editor Randy Hofbauer emphasized that the Rogers family earned the award for “a commitment to sustainability throughout its entire operation.” The company provides Fairly Traded gourmet whole bean, ground and single serve coffee as well as tea to individual, retail and wholesale customers.

“We are honored that our commitment to ensure sustainability is a core business principle has been recognized by one of the leading, widely-respected publications in our industry,” said Rogers Family Company Vice President Lisa Smoot. “The award underscores to our retail partners that we are dedicated to providing their customers with environmentally and socially-responsible products – from the coffee itself to the packaging.”

Store Brands said the Rogers Family Company’s groundbreaking OneCup ™ – a 97 percent biodegradable single serve coffee product that does not use a plastic cup – is a noteworthy example of the Rogers’ commitment to environmental responsibility.

Every year, an estimated 9.1 billion single serve coffee and drink cartridges – some 19 million cubic feet of waste – wind up in U.S. landfills.  The waste is approximately equivalent to 16,500 massive shipping containers which – if laid end to end – would stretch for more than 62 miles.

To address this longstanding waste challenge and concern of environmentally conscious consumers who want coffee as “green” as possible, the Rogers Family Company (www.rogersfamilyco.com) last year introduced OneCup ™ “BIO.

The Rogers family is also working to make the product’s mesh filter – used instead of a plastic cup – biodegradable to render OneCup 100 percent biodegradable.

OneCup is composed of bio-based material sourced from renewable natural resources including vegetable oil, various plant starches and tree by-products.

The company has launched other environmental initiatives such as:

• Pioneering a “bio-gas” system that uses coffee waste to power farms and mills.
• Achieving “carbon negative” status through organic, sustainable farms and restoring native forest on thousands of acres in Mexico and Central America.
• Deploying a “green army” – billions of earthworms – that create organic, nutrient-rich fertilizer.
• Launching a multi-million dollar project to plant 50 million coffee trees to replace those destroyed by the “La Roya” rust disease plaguing Latin America coffee  farms.
• Embarking on a “100-year” tree planting program.
• Commissioning a scientific study to ensure birds and other wildlife – including endangered species – can thrive on its farms while requiring farmers to preserve native forests, soil and water supplies.
• Encouraging an organic approach to reduce runoff of toxins into waterways, lessen the risk of birth defects and illness and preserve native species.
• Installing 4,000 solar panels on its 400,000-square foot roasting facility.

Customers and retail partners help support the Rogers Family Company’s Community Aid program which continuously improves living and working conditions for thousands of workers and farmers in regions such as Mexico, Latin America, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Rwanda (Africa).

Founded in 1979 by Jon B. Rogers and his wife Barbara Rogers, The Rogers Family Company provides “Responsibly Grown/ Fairly Traded” gourmet coffee under such brands/divisions as “San Francisco Bay”  and “The Organic Coffee Company.”  The company provides gourmet whole bean, ground and single serve coffee as well as tea to individual, retail and wholesale customers.  The company also supplies private label coffee and tea to major retailers across the U.S. The company’s headquarters/ roasting facility is in Lincoln near the state capital of Sacramento.  For more information, please visit www.rogersfamilyco.com.

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