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Drink to Sustainability and Fair Trade

September 17, 2013

Simon Fraser University continues to push ahead with its commitment to Fair Trade and Sustainability and is pleased to announce its partnership with Ethical Bean coffee of Vancouver.

Ethical Bean, a 100-per-cent fair trade organic certified coffee is roasted in Vancouver, and is now available at SFU’s popular Mackenzie Café and Dining Hall locations. Ethical Bean has been sourcing its coffee from certified fair trade providers around the world for the past 10 years, and gives back to the communities in which it operates.

“Their sustainability values impressed us and best of all they roast their coffee right here in Vancouver.” says Mark McLaughlin, Executive Director, SFU Ancillary Services. “Up to now we’ve been serving fair trade coffee but we’ve been importing it. We’re switching to Ethical Bean because their coffee is not only great tasting, it is roasted just a few kilometers from campus, and supporting our own communities is also important to us” he added.

“SFU is part of a growing movement towards sustainable procurement in Canada through the Fair Trade Campus program,” says Sean McHugh, Executive Director of the Canadian Fair Trade Network. “Fair trade is critical to creating a just society, which is a critical component of a sustainable planet.”

Ethical Bean’s Vancouver roasting facility meets LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) commercial interior standards.

SFU has earned a Fair trade Campus designation for the past two years from Fairtrade Canada. The designation recognizes the university’s adherence to fair trade objectives and practices such as decent working conditions, local sustainability, and improved terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world.