We're BC Green Business Certified!
Since we established our Chilliwack coffee shop in District 1881 in September 2021, we knew that sustainability had to become a larger focus of everything we do at Smoking Gun.
To-go cups, pastry bags, paper towels, even toilet paper are all things we had to consider. Not to mention the all the bags we put our freshly roasted coffee into. Plus, operating a cafe 7-days-a-week requires utilities like electricity - or roasters require natural gas. We have to use cleaners and cloths to clean our cafe. The number of things to think about can be overwhelming!
But, we do our best and we are constantly looking for ways to improve. From using 100% recyclable bags for our beans to using recyclable coffee cups, no small thing goes unnoticed. That's why we are super stoked to be BC Green Business Certified!
What is BC Green Business?
BC Green Business has been empowering businesses to raise the bar for what it means to be environmentally and socially responsible since 2013. We work one-on-one to identify affordable and practical ways to reduce environmental impact.
It’s About More Than Coffee
Smoking Gun Coffee started as a hobby. Founder Brandon Litun was in need of a way to decompress after a hard day’s work in the social work industry. That’s how he started roasting coffee in his garage with a popcorn maker. Soon, he was roasting coffee that tasted good enough to share with friends and family. The ability of coffee to create these connections and provide a therapeutic outlet was not lost on Brandon. This is still the guiding principle of Smoking Gun Coffee - creating connections with one another.
Quality Comes From Care
The best coffee, like any crop, comes from the best growing practices. Taking care of the soil, avoiding harsh pesticides and promoting happy and safe working conditions creates the best coffee in the world. That’s why we focus on sourcing from small lot farmers, many of them multigenerational coffee farmers, who deeply care not only about the crop, but the land on which they operate and the people whom they employ and support. This is the difference one tastes in thoughtfully sourced, ethically produced and expertly roasted coffee.
Globally Sourced, Locally Focused
There’s no avoiding the fact that coffee roasting requires importing crops from across the globe. There is a carbon footprint other than this and it must be navigated thoughtfully. The approach at Smoking Gun is to treat all farmers, importers and partners like neighbours. The same friendly connections that are made in their Chilliwack cafe everyday are mad across the coffee producing world. Brandon has even had a chance to meet and work side-by-side with coffee farmers in Colombia and he plans to visit more farms to establish meaningful, lasting relationships.
Check out our conservation and waste diversion efforts in the chart below!
