Corporate Social Responsibility in A Cup | Rose Scholars Spring 2017

Yesterday, I attended the Rose Cafe with Keith Lemnios about Sun Coffee. As an avid coffee drinker, I was really interested in learning more about the company that supplies the coffee to the dining halls here at Cornell. I expected to just hear about the process of making coffee, but ended up learning so much more about the company and the great things they are doing to help the environment and the lives of their workers.

Lemnios told us how he reevaluated his companies practices after finding out that the families that were growing the beans had been earning the same level of wages since the 40’s. Since then, they have worked to provide living wages to families and really enhance the lives of their workers. They have invested in the education of the families that work on their farms and work to provide better lives for them. Lemnios really seemed invested in the welfare of their workers, and it really showed through his visits to the farm to check in on the workers and how they are doing. I think this is awesome, especially being in ILR, I am extremely interested in companies that care so much about the workers, especially in countries that do not have the labor laws in place regarding safety, working conditions and wages that we have in the US. The company was also extremely concerned with their environmental impact, and preserving the rainforest. More companies have been adopting corporate social responsibility and this trend should continue, as it really shows the trends towards companies caring more about their impact on the world than making a profit.

I also learned information about the process of making coffee that I had not known before. While this is slightly embarrassing to admit considering my coffee addiction, I did not know that coffee beans grew on trees and were the seeds of cherries from the trees. It was really interesting to see the process by which Sun Coffee roasts their beans, and see the measures they have taken to ensure their process is sustainable and environmentally friendly.

This Rose Cafe really opened my eyes and made me think more about where the things I eat and drink actually come from. Before, I never really considered the supply chain and processes it takes to get the coffee to the dining hall, and now that I know, I have a greater appreciation for this coffee and the great company behind it.

2 thoughts on “Corporate Social Responsibility in A Cup”

This is great to hear! I’m so glad companies have started to move away from industrialized methods of agricultural and have started to embrace the more human-side of agriculture. Hopefully more companies in the future will follow suit and begin to alter their business practices.

Dearhjs,

Brilliant post. Just brilliant. There is one thing you said that really intrigued me. You mentioned that, “Lemnios told us how he reevaluated his companies practices after finding out that the families that were growing the beans had been earning the same level of wages since the 40’s. Since then, they have worked to provide living wages to families and really enhance the lives of their workers. They have invested in the education of the families that work on their farms and work to provide better lives for them. Lemnios really seemed invested in the welfare of their workers, and it really showed through his visits to the farm to check in on the workers and how they are doing. I think this is awesome, especially being in ILR, I am extremely interested in companies that care so much about the workers, especially in countries that do not have the labor laws in place regarding safety, working conditions and wages that we have in the US. The company was also extremely concerned with their environmental impact, and preserving the rainforest. More companies have been adopting corporate social responsibility and this trend should continue, as it really shows the trends towards companies caring more about their impact on the world than making a profit.” Profound insight here. This comment really displays your passion for workers rights. I too think that Keiths work with the farmers is awesome. Keep up the thoughtful reflections and good writing.

best,
hadley

Jonathan Tsang on May 4, 2017 at 2:43 pm said:

This is great to hear! I’m so glad companies have started to move away from industrialized methods of agricultural and have started to embrace the more human-side of agriculture. Hopefully more companies in the future will follow suit and begin to alter their business practices.
Hadley Laskowski on May 10, 2017 at 3:51 pm said:

Dearhjs,

Brilliant post. Just brilliant. There is one thing you said that really intrigued me. You mentioned that, “Lemnios told us how he reevaluated his companies practices after finding out that the families that were growing the beans had been earning the same level of wages since the 40’s. Since then, they have worked to provide living wages to families and really enhance the lives of their workers. They have invested in the education of the families that work on their farms and work to provide better lives for them. Lemnios really seemed invested in the welfare of their workers, and it really showed through his visits to the farm to check in on the workers and how they are doing. I think this is awesome, especially being in ILR, I am extremely interested in companies that care so much about the workers, especially in countries that do not have the labor laws in place regarding safety, working conditions and wages that we have in the US. The company was also extremely concerned with their environmental impact, and preserving the rainforest. More companies have been adopting corporate social responsibility and this trend should continue, as it really shows the trends towards companies caring more about their impact on the world than making a profit.” Profound insight here. This comment really displays your passion for workers rights. I too think that Keiths work with the farmers is awesome. Keep up the thoughtful reflections and good writing.

best,
hadley