NEWS

Singapore – 24 March 2022 – Tech-enabled coffee chain Flash Coffee is taking its partnership with green start-up CleanHub one step further, as part of its goals to become more than a plastic neutral brand.

In November 2021, Flash Coffee embarked on a mission to neutralise its plastic impact for all past, present and future purchases and have committed to recover over 80,000 kilograms of plastic waste to date in collaboration with CleanHub. For every Flash Coffee purchase, the coffee chain works with CleanHub and its global network of plastic collection projects to recover the equivalent amount of plastic before it reaches the oceans.

From Plastic Neutral, to Plastic Neutral+

Flash Coffee and CleanHub believe that channeling collective power is key to creating long-term positive impact on the environment, and with Flash Coffee’s latest app update, customers can now opt in to play a pivotal role in the coffee chain’s sustainability journey.

All orders at Flash Coffee are already automatically plastic neutral and now, after selecting their orders on the Flash Coffee app, customers can choose to contribute S$0.20 on the check-out page to enable the recovery of 10 times more plastic than needed to neutralise the impact of a single plastic cup. The top-up would make their purchase Plastic Neutral+, where 100% of the contributions will go towards funding a selected CleanHub’s collection partner. Upon check-out, customers will be notified of the latest volume of plastic-collection they have enabled, courtesy of CleanHub’s unique tracking technology.

Supporting GOT BAG and Green Worms through CleanHub

CleanHub helps with tracking, documenting and verifying the plastic waste volumes that are collected and recovered by Flash Coffee’s collection partners, GOT BAG and Green Worms.

GOT BAG, located in Damak, Indonesia, developed the world’s first backpack made of marine plastic to address one of the biggest pollution problems in Indonesia: plastic waste in oceans, and close the loop on ocean plastic. Since October 2019, plastic waste has been collected along the north shore of Java by a network of around 2,000 fishermen. The fishermen community earn additional income by bringing plastic bycatch back to shore or cleaning the mangroves and waterways leading to the ocean, and the collected material then gets sorted into different plastic types. All PET is recycled and processed into yarn for backpack production, and the remaining plastic is divided according to suitable recycling solutions.

Green Worms is a social enterprise from Kerala, India, intercepting the waste as close to the source as possible to ensure that plastic will not end up in the environment. They run door-to-door collection services for household waste, which is transported to the Green Worms sorting centre and segregated into different material types. Recyclable waste is then sold to recycling companies and non-recyclable waste like multi-layer packaging is sent to safe disposal endpoints. Green Worms also endeavours to hire and support women from self-help groups in Kerala, to help them become financially independent.

“Sustainability is an incredibly important topic for Flash Coffee, and our CleanHub collaboration that goes beyond plastic neutrality is just the beginning of our journey. We are glad to be able to include our customers in our mission, and harness this collective power to create a larger positive environmental impact that recovers more plastic and leads to cleaner oceans. Our team remains committed to protecting the environment and minimising our impact wherever possible, and we are consistently reviewing supply chain upstream and downstream processes, product designs, in-store initiatives and beyond to understand how we can do more. We look forward to unveiling more sustainability-focused campaigns and partnerships with like-minded brands in the future,” shared David Brunier, CEO and Founder of Flash Coffee.

“We are building a future where plastic is too valuable to waste. So far, we have enabled the recovery of over one million kilograms of plastic waste and we are connecting more than 100 brand partners to collection hubs in Asia. By engaging with us, brands are not only making an important environmental commitment, but also having a huge social impact. Thanks to Flash Coffee, we can help set up robust collection infrastructure that not only keeps plastic out of the ocean but also provides dignified jobs for hundreds of people”, added Joel Tasche, CEO and Founder of CleanHub.

Going Barepack: Switching out Single Use Plastics for Reusables

In a bid to reduce the volume of single-use plastics in the coffee chain’s operations, Flash Coffee Singapore has partnered with Barepack, the largest reusable packaging system locally, to get food and beverage items delivered in reusable containers. The initiative will be first piloted in the Oxley Tower and PLUS outlets, and subsequently rolled out islandwide.

Track Flash Coffee’s ongoing plastic recovery impact here: https://flashcoffee.cleanhub.com/.
For more information on Flash Coffee, please visit https://flash-coffee.com/.

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About Flash Coffee

Flash Coffee is a tech-enabled coffee chain that serves an award-winning menu of high-quality drinks at affordable prices. Its unique coffee menu curated by World Latte Art and Barista Champions sets it apart from conventional cafes and quick service brands. Customers can use the Flash Coffee app to pick up orders from any of its 31 iconic yellow storefronts, or opt for delivery to their doorstep.

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About CleanHub

CleanHub is a company dedicated to freeing the planet from plastic pollution, while offering solutions for brands to have verifiable environmental impact. CleanHub works in global partnerships to recover plastic waste from the natural environment and its traceability technology keeps account of the person, quantity, quality and location of all activities.

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