Here at Dean’s Beans, we love all things large and small. After all, we built our business model around the tiny coffee bean and the HUGE impact we are able to have by using coffee as a vehicle for positive change. It just goes to show that even the smallest things can make a big impact. However, there are some instances where the old adage “bigger is better” actually applies, and we apply it to SOLAR PANELS!!!
Ecological responsibility is one of the core tenets of our mission, and we consider the ecological and environmental ramifications of every business decision we make. In 2006, we were one of the first businesses in Massachusetts to install a large solar array that would offset a meaningful portion of our energy usage. Those original panels supplied us with over 50% of our electricity, but that was not enough for us! At the end of 2019, we DOUBLED the size of that original array and now have solar panels on the roofs of both buildings at our facility. Our bigger and better solar array has the potential to offset 79% of our fossil fuel usage, and has already saved 27,932.51 pounds of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere. We think that’s pretty awesome!
We don’t just put up solar panels because they’re cool or trendy. As a business and as individuals, we see it as our responsibility to do everything we can to stop climate change, because the future of our planet, our business, and coffee (yes, coffee!) depend on it.
Coffee is a difficult crop to grow and requires specific conditions to thrive, developing the delicious beans that we are all used to enjoying. Over the years, the effects of climate change, including droughts and rising temperatures, have affected every aspect of coffee cultivation. I know that most of us cannot imagine starting the day without our morning cuppa; I certainly can’t! But can you imagine being a coffee farmer, and watching your coffee yields get smaller and smaller every year, until they disappear completely? This fate awaits the farmers we work with if we don’t all get serious about climate change, and fast.
The stakes are incredibly high for the farmers that we work with. Climate change is affecting them RIGHT NOW, and if we don’t take action their livelihoods, and our coffee, may disappear for good. Climate change is intertwined with every decision we make, which is why upgrading our solar array was a no-brainer for us. It’s just one more reason you can feel good about drinking Dean’s Beans!