RED DIAMOND
as it is that the sourcing of Red Diamond ’ s ingredients follows strict ethical guidelines , then the same applies to its infrastructure too .
As Van Rijn explains : “ As an IT department , we create a lot of electronic waste . We recycle as we should , but we also incorporate other initiatives . For instance , in our manufacturing facility , we use a lot of corrugated cardboard and typically after those have been used , they would be thrown away . We ' ve invested in the materials and equipment to convert that corrugated material to a packaging material . So instead of throwing it away , we ' re using it to package our products .”
Coffee and tea , as natural products , rely on a healthy environment from the initial source all the way through to their eventual disposal . With expectation increasingly among customers that the brands they buy are green , eco-friendly and sustainable , it ’ s something Red Diamond is wholly committed to at its Alabama campus .
“ We signed our first sustainability commitment in 2013 , so we have worked to reduce fertilizer usage on the company grounds . We have 73 acres and we ' ve reduced our water usage by 20 million gallons a year by using sustainable technologies ,” continued Van Rijn .
“ We went from fuel based equipment to electric equipment . We also have strong relationships with our growers and we support communities economically through consistent and reliable purchases ,” he said .
An area that you may not expect a drinks company to branch out into is social sustainability . Van Rijn insisted this was a key part of the company ’ s strategy :
“ One example is our ongoing support of Grounds for Health , which is an organisation that focuses on providing critical cervical cancer prevention services in our coffee origin countries .”
Last year ’ s pandemic presented another opportunity to reaffirm Red Diamond ’ s dedication to its local community in Birmingham , Alabama , with The Great Grocery Giveback - a program established to provide a full week ’ s worth of groceries every week to those who have been laid off or furloughed as a result of COVID-19 . “ The people of Birmingham have always been a huge part of the Red Diamond family ,” says Emily Wood Bowron , VP Strategic Marketing .
Ethics play a key role in the brand ’ s identity , according to Van Rijn : “ We always look for ways to improve like this . We want all of our customers to know that when they purchase our products , they ' re supporting a company with high ethical standards and vision for a sustainable future .”
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