Building a coffee industry that
works for everyone.
At North Star, coffee has never just been about what’s in the cup.
We see it as one of the most powerful products in the world, capable of creating connection, opportunity and lasting value throughout the supply chain, from the people who grow it to the people who drink it.
Since launching in 2013, we’ve worked to build a more thoughtful approach to specialty coffee. One rooted in long-term relationships, a future focused mindset and a belief that for-profit businesses can and should create positive impact.
Because coffee is far more than a commodity. It’s a chain of people, businesses and decisions stretching from farm to cup, where value is either reinforced or lost and livelihoods are sustained or lost.
Today, that system is under growing pressure.
Climate change, volatile pricing systems and declining profitability at farm level are making it increasingly difficult for producers to build secure futures in coffee. At the same time, cafés and hospitality businesses are operating under growing financial strain, while global demand for coffee continues to rise.
We believe the future of coffee depends on creating and communicating greater value throughout the supply chain - helping producers, hospitality businesses, and coffee drinkers stay connected to both the true worth of coffee and the role they play in securing its future.
Everything we do is shaped by that belief.
Why this matters
Around 25 million families around the world rely on coffee for income.
Yet for many producers, coffee remains financially unviable due to long-standing power imbalances, volatile pricing structures and increasing environmental pressure. Coffee is already in decline, in part thanks to climate change but mostly because producers are no longer motivated to grow it. At the same time, many hospitality businesses face rising costs, tight margins and growing pressure to deliver quality at unsustainable prices.
The choices made throughout the supply chain, what we buy, how we price coffee, how we serve it and how we talk about it, all shape the future of the industry.
For us, great coffee has never just been about flavour alone. It’s about building a coffee industry where producers can thrive, hospitality businesses can operate sustainably, and customers can connect more deeply with what they’re drinking.
We believe quality, people, planet, and profit are not competing priorities, but deeply interconnected ones. The future of coffee depends on our ability to stop treating them as separate conversations.
Our Philosophy
We source specialty-grade coffees through a network of producing partners we’ve built relationships with over many years. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach to sourcing, we work closely with individuals and producer groups to better understand their unique circumstances, challenges and goals.
At North Star, we believe that as roasters (the most privileged actors in the supply chain) we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to help shape a better way forward: one that works for the world we are now facing, and for the people within it.
Here are a few ways we try to do that:
*We build long-term relationships
We believe meaningful impact takes time. By returning to the same producing partners year after year, we help create greater stability and confidence, allowing producers to invest in quality, infrastructure and long-term business resilience.
*We pay for long-term viability
Our aim is to support reinvestment at farm level - not just short-term survival. Our prices are set by the producer or trusted exporter at a rate that they identify to be viable.
*We invest beyond purchasing coffee
Our Impact Fund exists to support targeted social, environmental, and community initiatives both at origin and closer to home - from climate resilience and quality improvement projects to local community partnerships and education programmes.
The goal is to move beyond transactional coffee buying and contribute more meaningfully to the long-term resilience of the communities connected to our business.
*We create value throughout the supply chain
Our relationships do not begin and end with contracts. Through regular communication, origin visits, and shared learning, we remain closely connected to our supply partners - ensuring our decisions are informed by their realities, and that the stories told about their coffees are shaped by them.
Across our cafés, packaging, online platforms, and customer experience, we work to make specialty coffee feel more approachable, engaging, and easier to understand.
*We support more sustainable hospitality
Hospitality plays a critical role in shaping how coffee is experienced and valued.
Through our own retail sites and wholesale partnerships, training, and ongoing support, we work with cafés and hospitality teams to help build more sustainable and commercially resilient coffee businesses.
That means helping teams build confidence, communicate value more effectively, and create better customer experiences — while supporting long-term team team wellbeing and growth.
*We build a business that can sustain this approach
None of this is possible without long-term financial resilience.
We are intentional about building a business capable of sustaining these commitments over time, ensuring impact is not compromised under pressure. This includes integrating impact spending into our wider business strategy and embedding these principles directly into how the company operates.
As a certified B Corporation, we have also formally embedded stakeholder responsibility into our company structure - recognising our responsibility not just to shareholders, but to the wider communities and ecosystems connected to our business.
Our vision is for a more certain future for coffee — one where the people participating throughout the supply chain are able to thrive.
To help guide our decisions and measure our impact, we developed a working Theory of Change that shapes how we source, grow and operate as a business. At its core is a simple belief:
A quality and impact-led approach can improve the viability of business models across the coffee supply chain, creating a more sustainable future for coffee.
We believe impact should be measurable, transparent, and constantly evolving. We do not believe businesses should be celebrated simply for doing the things they should already be doing. Accountability matters because the challenges facing coffee (and the wider food system) are too significant for vague commitments or surface-level action.
As a certified B Corporation, we are independently assessed across governance, environmental practices, employee wellbeing, customer relationships, and supply chain impact, helping hold us accountable to the standards we set ourselves as a business.
NS* Impact Projects
Rwanda Project
Our long-term partnership with Tropic Coffee in Rwanda began with a shared question: what would it look like to create a more viable future for the next generation of coffee producers?
In this region, many young people faced limited opportunities for stable work, often leaving their communities or turning to mining to make a living.
Together, we helped support a new coffee-growing initiative designed to create long-term opportunity for 20 young people through access to land, training and ongoing support.
The project continues to grow year after year, creating more stable income and stronger futures within the community.
The group chose the name Ijabo, meaning “dignity” in Kinyarwanda, something they feel they’ve gained through being part of the project.
El Salvador Project
Our relationship with coffee producer Maria in El Salvador reflects the kind of long-term partnership we aim to build throughout our supply chain.
When we first began working together, limited processing infrastructure was reducing both coffee quality and the income her farm could generate, putting its future at risk.
Together, we invested in the tools and infrastructure needed to give Maria greater control over how her coffee is processed and sold.
The result has been transformational. Maria has tripled her income from coffee, and her son Oscar is now actively involved in running the farm, helping secure its future for the next generation.
Environmental Impact
Our Packaging
We recognise packaging remains one of the biggest environmental challenges within coffee. While there is no perfect solution currently available, we are committed to continually improving the materials and systems we use across our business.
Reducing virgin fossil-fuel-based plastics will always be a priority for us. We were the first coffee company in 2022 to introduce home-compostable packaging for our retail coffee bags.
Our retail packaging uses materials derived from cellulose, kraft paper and sugarcane, alongside compostable inks, valves and seals.
For larger bags that still require recyclable plastic for durability and freshness, we operate return and recycling systems through specialist recycling partners.
For many local wholesale partners, we also operate a reusable 4kg tin system that removes single-use wholesale packaging entirely. These tins are collected, cleaned and refilled as part of a circular delivery system designed to significantly reduce packaging waste across local coffee deliveries.
Roasting
All of our coffees are roasted using Loring Smart Roast technology, designed to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption compared to traditional roasting systems.
This technology allows us to focus on exceptional flavour development while lowering environmental impact.
Agriculture
Many of the producers we work with use agroforestry and shade-grown farming techniques that support biodiversity, soil health and natural ecosystems.
By supporting smaller-scale producers who prioritise environmentally responsible growing practices, we aim to contribute toward more resilient coffee-growing systems.
Delivery & Logistics
We work with delivery partners investing in lower-emission logistics systems and electric vehicle fleets as part of broader efforts to reduce transport emissions.
We also deliver local wholesale orders using our own electric vehicle.
Waste Reduction
Across our roastery and cafés, we work to minimise waste wherever possible.
This includes:
- Reusing and recycling packaging materials
- Providing used coffee grounds for customers to repurpose as fertiliser
- Donating coffee sacks for reuse and upcycling
- Repurposing coffee chaff for agricultural composting
- Working to reduce single-use waste throughout our cafés
Responsible Partnerships
We believe impact should be measurable, transparent, and constantly evolving. We do not believe businesses should be celebrated simply for doing the things they should already be doing. Accountability matters because the challenges facing coffee (and the wider food system) are too significant for vague commitments or surface-level action.
As a certified B Corporation, we are independently assessed across governance, environmental practices, employee wellbeing, customer relationships, and supply chain impact, helping hold us accountable to the standards we set ourselves as a business.
For us, transparency is not a marketing exercise, but an ongoing commitment to learning, improving, and openly sharing both progress and challenges as we continue building a more responsible and resilient business.
A working progress...
We do not believe there is a perfect solution to the challenges facing coffee or the wider food industry.
But we also do not believe it is enough to simply sustain the current system unchanged.
The future of coffee depends on our ability to reimagine it, building better systems that support people, planet and long-term viability together.
Thank you for being part of that journey.