How coffee company Piazza D’Oro is staying ahead of the sustainability curve with new home-compostable takeaway coffee cups.
Many have experienced the frustration of paper straws: great in theory, but often impractical when they dissolve in your mouth before you’ve finished your iced latte. This isn’t just a gripe with paper straws, but a common problem when trying to make something both environmentally friendly and practical. Sometimes the ideas just do not land.
Yet, Piazza D’Oro has sourced one solution with its latest eco initiative. The Sydney coffee roaster is set to introduce a new line of takeaway coffee cups, sourced from BioPak, which are not only home compostable but also functional, with the ability to hold hot liquids for a reasonable period of time.
Although this would be a relatively big transition for any company, JDE Australia and New Zealand Quality and Sustainability Manager Rick Davy says the roll-out is just one element in its broader sustainability program, Common Grounds.
Rick says responsible sourcing – one of parent company JDE Peet’s core sustainability pillars – is critical. The business is committed to moving to 100 per cent responsibly sourced coffee by 2025, with Piazza D’Oro already achieving this goal.
“Instead of just having some products or brands with third-party certification, we aimed for an impact-centric program that covers all our coffee. We’ve made great progress and are on track to be 100 per cent responsibly sourced globally,” says Rick.
“We’ve also started communicating this on our packaging. You’ll now see our Common Grounds and responsible sourcing messaging rolled out on our Piazza D’Oro bags.”
Recently there has been considerable movement in the sustainability space for Piazza D’Oro, with the company investing heavily in data collection. The roaster’s progress is tracked against its sustainability targets in the JDE Peet’s annual report. Because of this transparency and accountability, Rick believes the company has become a global leader in the environmental, social, and governance space.
“Having a company like JDE Peet’s taking action on this really helps drive change within the coffee industry,” he says. “Recently, we’ve been more vocal about our efforts, and this shift has brought more data and a stronger emphasis on tracking and reporting our progress.”
Now, Piazza D’Oro is set to roll out its home-compostable coffee cups by June 2025. According to Rick, this transition was a natural next step in the company’s sustainability journey.
Although some Australian states have made the shift to banning non-commercially compostable takeaway cups, Piazza D’Oro is taking this one step further by switching to home compostable.
“For us, sustainable packaging has always been a priority, and we weren’t waiting for regulations to make the change. The regulations don’t differentiate between home and commercial compostability, but by moving to home compostability, we’re making the packaging even more accessible for consumers to compost,” says Rick.
However, there was quite a learning curve going from commercial to home compostability for the Piazza D’Oro team. The biggest trial, says Rick, was sourcing a home-compostable product that is functional, can preserve product quality, and hold a hot cup of coffee without failing in the consumer’s hand.
“There’s no point in having super-sustainable packaging if it doesn’t work, for example if a takeaway cup leaks or a bag doesn’t preserve shelf life and causes the coffee to go stale,” he says.
“Food waste is a huge issue in Australia, with the average household throwing away about 300 kilograms of food per year. Packaging plays a key role in preventing that, so it’s essential it is fit for purpose, not just in terms of end-of-life but also functionality during use.”
Piazza D’Oro has found this balance, with the takeaway coffee cup made from a responsibly sourced paper fibreboard exterior and an aqueous lining to prevent leaks.
“The challenge with hot beverage cups has always been that, while fibre is a renewable resource, it needs to be lined with something that can hold the hot liquid. A lot of work has gone into developing the right lining and barrier properties. We use a bio-plastic that comes from renewable resources, not oil-based plastics, which can compost within the necessary time frame for certification,” says Rick.
Although this is a significant milestone in Piazza D’Oro’s sustainability goals, the company hopes the transition won’t impact consumers as there should not be a difference in the cups’ performance. The soft launch is also an opportunity to communicate the change, promote correct disposal – such as checking if your council already accepts compostable packaging, and for partners to integrate feedback into further development of cups.
“Various iterations have been made to improve our takeaway coffee cups over time. We’ve gone through several versions with BioPak to improve performance. For example, when compostable lids were first introduced, there was feedback about a difference in mouthfeel. However, this has improved significantly in the past couple of years, so we’re hitting the mark on both performance and compostability,” he says.
Rick assures the buck won’t stop at the launch of the cups, as the company is continuously working closely with its customers to improve the product.
“In retail environments, we can get direct feedback from consumers, often through the contact details on our retail packaging. In the business-to-business sector, feedback generally comes from our customers, who gather insights from their consumers,” says Rick.
“They reach out to us, and we work together to address any issues. We also have regular meetings with our suppliers, including BioPak, where we discuss feedback and explore opportunities for improvement.”
For more information, visit piazzadoro.com.au
