Like Earth Days of the past, Earth Day 2014 will focus on the unique environmental challenges of our time. As the world’s population migrates to cities, and as the bleak reality of climate change becomes increasingly clear, the need to create sustainable communities is more important than ever.
Today – Earth Day 2014 – will seek to do just that through its global theme: Green Cities. With smart investments in sustainable technology, forward-thinking public policy, and an educated and active public, we can transform our cities and forge a sustainable future. Nothing is more powerful than the collective action of a billion people.
Women’s Bean Project’s Commitment to a Sustainable Community:
OPPORTUNITY
We help women help themselves. We provide opportunities for our participants to discover their talents and develop skills to join the workforce and build a better life.
SERVICE
We strive to “do well by doing good.” We are a social enterprise that believes it is a basic human right to live a stable, healthy life. We serve our supporters, partners, participants and communities by delivering quality products with innovation and efficiency.
TRANSFORMATION
Our efforts transform more than the individual woman. The seeds of hope in one woman weave threads of success that expand to families and communities with a reach that touches individuals worldwide. From program participants and vendors to customers, donors and volunteers, their transformations make a difference.
EMPOWERMENT
Using the tools we provide, women are empowered to change their lives. Our supporters are empowered with the knowledge that they have contributed, not only to the self-worth and self-sufficiency of disadvantaged women, but also to the broad-reaching benefits our communities reap.
SUSTAINABILITY
Instead of a one-time handout, women acquire the tools needed to sustain themselves and their families for a lifetime. We believe in nurturing economic sustainability for our program participants and partners, being ever-mindful of our impact on the environment.
Our Commitment to our Guiding Principles
We are proud to purchase beans from Kelley Bean Company. Kelley Bean is a third generation family-owned company that partners with growers to help them achieve their economic goals and ensure long-term sustainability.
We have a long-standing relationship with the Candelaria family in Durango, Colorado. They source for us the finest chiles in the Southwest. These spices are prepared by grinding or crushing and then mixed with the strictest supervision. Samples are then taste tested to ensure a constant quality of excellent taste and texture.
Tim and Tommy Thwaites at Coda Cofee find us the perfect organic, fair trade coffee beans and then roast them just for us.
Rocky Mountain Spice Company, another family-owned firm, has been our partner for many years. Besides being a supplier of most of our spices, their kosher certification and expertise help to ensure our kosher compliance. Additionally, they serve as our consultant in product development.
In 2008 we received a Nonprofit Energy Efficiency Program (NEEP) grant to upgrade the Firehouse #10 facility. The grant paid to blow insulation into the attic, install ceiling fans, apply film to all windows, upgrade some appliances and a variety of other items to decrease our energy usage.
By partnering with Altogether Recycling, we teach the women about recycling and contribute our paper goods and aluminum for recycling.
In a partnership with Vertex, Inc., we decrease our environmental impact of our packaging by using their Expandos, paper pyramids made from recycled paper that cushion the contents of each both. This solution is cost saving, time saving and nontoxic. The machine and the materials are donated by Vertex.
When possible, we use recycled materials for our packaging and packing. We work with a local, female-owned company to identify the packaging and packing materials with the lowest environmental impact.
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