GREEN MOUNTAIN COFFEE ROAS TERS
for your
home
Brewing
a better
world
(and a perfect
cup of coffee)
s u pplier
profıle
Name: Keurig Inc. and Green
Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc.
Employees: More than 1,100
Address: 33 Coffee Lane
Waterbury, VT 05676
Phone: 1-888-879-4627
Web sites:
www.green
mountaincoffee.com;
www.keurig.com
Products at Costco:
Keurig Gourmet
Single Serve Home
Brewing System,
Green Mountain
Coffee, Newman’s
Own Organics K-Cups
Comment about
Costco: “There are great
synergies between Costco
and Green Mountain Coffee in
terms of our commitment to
corporate social responsibility,
our passion for quality and our
focus on value.”
—Jim Travis, vice president of sales,
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
Green Mountain Coffee’s
buyers take frequent trips
to source and work
with farmers to produce
the finest Arabica beans.
By Steve Fisher
SOME COMPANIES ADOPT a culture of corporate responsibility after they achieve success. Costco
supplier Keurig and its parent company, Green
Mountain Coffee Roasters, strive for success in
order to fuel their sense of corporate responsibility.
The Vermont-headquartered company—makers
of the Keurig Gourmet Single Serve Home Brewing
System, Green Mountain Coffee and Newman’s
Own Organics K-Cups—adheres to a founding
philosophy: Use the power of business to make the
world a better place.
Mike Dupee, Green Mountain’s vice president of
corporate social responsibility, attributes
the approach to two things: “The
first is [Green Mountain’s founder
and chairman of the board] Bob
Stiller’s personal leadership
style, which encourages people
to bring what they care about
into work and pursue their
passion.” Which leads to the
second thing: “A lot of people in
Vermont, generally, but certainly
in our company, care a lot about
these issues and want to find a way to
make it part of the work that we do.”
KEURIG
Setting goals
Each year, when Green Mountain Coffee
Roasters sets its corporate financial goals, it
also sets a volunteerism goal. Under their CAFE
(Community Action for Employees) program,
individual workers can take up to 52 hours a year
out of their normal workweek, as approved by
supervisors, to perform community service for a
nonprofit organization.
“It doesn’t come out of your pay, so you’re
essentially paid to volunteer,” says Dupee.
Areas of focus for the company are partnering with coffee-growing communities, supporting
local communities, protecting the environment,
promoting sustainable coffee, working together for
change and creating a great place to work.
The breadth of their programs earned the company the number-one spot on CRO magazine’s list of
“Best Corporate Citizens” in 2006 and 2007. Forbes,
SustainableBusiness.com and others have also recognized Green Mountain as a good corporate citizen
and an innovative, high-growth company.
Grounds for success
Keurig produced one of the first single-cup
gourmet coffee makers and weathered a storm of
competitors, most of whom dropped out of the
market. The company built its success by perfecting the technology but, perhaps more important,
offering more choices for brews, a fact that was
strengthened by the merger with Green Mountain
Coffee Roasters. In addition to offering more than
200 varieties of gourmet coffees, teas and cocoa,
they developed the My K-Cup to enable users to
make any coffee they like.
Each year the company donates at least 5
percent of its profits to support social and environmental projects in the communities where
its headquarters, manufacturing and distribution
facilities are located.
Green Mountain’s giving, according to Dupee,
is concentrated on four areas: reducing poverty,
alleviating hunger, reducing solid waste and promoting responsible energy use.
Acknowledging that the company’s pod products are something the environmentally conscious
might question, Dupee says, “That’s an issue we’re
very focused on, and it’s an organizational priority.” He urges everyone to read more about their
efforts on a special Web site,
www.brewingabetter
world.com. C
