CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Circle K has taken its commitment to sustainability a step further by becoming the largest convenience retailer in the U.S. to offer 100% sustainably sourced coffee blends across all their locations. To celebrate this initiative, Circle K will be offering up to 40% off reusable mugs on April 22 for Earth Day.

The sustainably sourced coffee program is built around three pillars: farm productivity, environmental practices and social development. Coffee beans will come from participating farms around the world while providing valuable tools, training and services to coffee farmers and their communities.

Additionally, farms where these coffees are sourced, actively promote the following:

• No child labor
• No form of slavery or forced labor
• Trainings on applicable local and international labor and employment laws
• Trainings on, but not limited to, critical health, occupational safety topics, and worker rights and conditions
• Gender equity
• Soil conservation
• Forest conservation and biodiversity
• Water protection, waste management and efficient energy use
• Environmentally responsible agriculture

“We continue to look for ways to deliver high quality coffee while reducing our impact on the environment,” said Kevin Lewis, global chief marketing officer of Alimentation Couche-Tard, in a press release. “In the US, over the past year, we’ve reduced case sizes and extended product shelf life, which will minimize the amount of coffee wasted. These steps, combined with the installation of bean-to-cup coffee machines across the US, have delivered a 30% reduction in total pounds of coffee wasted annually.”

Circle K offers consistently fresh coffee through their bean-to-cup machines. The new sustainably sourced coffee blends will be available through these machines in both hot and iced forms. While the coffee beans will now be 100% sustainably sourced, the quality will continue to be the same java customers love, with no changes to the taste, aroma or roast profile.

During the pandemic, hot dispensed beverages took a hit due to state and local restrictions on self-service foodservice, with category sales declining 33.4%, per newly released NACS State of the Industry data for 2020. The morning daypart was especially hard hit, as daily commuters relied opted to make their own coffee at home instead of frequenting their local convenience store.  

Look for more hot dispensed beverages category insights in the upcoming May issue of NACS Magazine, where Heather Davis, director of foodservice at Savannah, Georgia-based Parker’s, shares advice on how convenience retailers can recapture the coveted coffee customer in a special cover story that previews NACS State of the Industry foodservice data.