The Black Stilt is a Triple-Bottom-Line, Carbon-Neutral company.

We take pride in our movement towards a more sustainable way of doing business. Our goal is to enact positive change in the region and lead as a primary example of what is needed to create healthy, sustainable communities. Through innovation, purchasing preferences, operations, standards, enthusiasm, and rapid-paced growth, we believe we can have a net positive impact on the region, and go beyond our goal of becoming carbon neutral*.

Our current commitments to improving the way we do business include:

Transportation

  1. Increased compost and recycling storage to minimize waste pickups and reorganized bakery and coffee deliveries thereby reducing total number of trips to the Black Stilt by over 10%
  2. Purchased an ultra-efficient washing machine to eliminate laundry trips
  3. Switched suppliers to reduce travel. 
  4. All products sourced locally or at furthest are grown/manufactured within Canada and/or the US.

Purchasing 

  1. Discontinued individually packaged condiments and introduced compostable cutlery
  2. Replaced harsh cleaning products with Ecolab and Soap Exchange refillable products
  3. Switched to coreless toilet paper and paper towel with the least packaging
  4. Purchase recycled and post-consumer paper products
  5. Used low VOC paints in building the Fort Street location
  6. Switched to nitrous cartridges for whipped cream, which are 100% recyclable 
  7. We sell corn plastic to go mugs!

Energy & Water

  1. Switched bathroom lighting to high-efficiency, and long lasting CFL bulbs 
  2. Most equipment is unplugged at night to reduce phantom loads
  3. The sanitizing dishwasher is now only run when full
  4. Installed a low-flow dishwashing wand
  5. Installed motion sensor low flow bathroom taps (at Hillside) and low flush toilets (both stores)
  6. Installed an on-demand hot water heater at Fort Street, conserving energy and water!  

Waste Management 

  1. Introduced extensive recycling and composting systems to reduce our landfill waste by 95% (could be 99% if customers followed the instructions on the signs)
  2. Purchase recycled plastic containers for our waste management system
  3. The Black Stilt offers 100% compostable cornstarch-derived cups for hot to-go drinks
  4. Encourage customers to bring their own mug by offering a free drink if they purchase one of our corn plastic mugs. Thereafter they receive discounts on their drink which can add up to as much as $1 vs a comparable to-go drink.  This program has increased personal mug use by approximately 300% since its inception.
  5. We offer refillable tins for our bulk tea
  6. We have “paper towel” bins in the bathrooms, so we can compost over 80% of paper towel (would be 100% if customers followed the instructions on the signs)
  7. We have drastically reduced food and milk waste by tightening up on orders and measurements

Global Community

  1. Stilt management visited the coffee farms in Costa Rica to teach and learn sustainable practices and build relationships
  2. The Stilt has written a "Seed to Cup" book that will be a part of a fundraising program for the Oughtred Coffee Trust, which supports the needs of farms and farmers that we purchase from.  The book itself is an educational piece tracing the steps of coffee from flower to drink.

Local Community 

  1. We regularly attend and participate in local Green Business events that pertain to local and global sustainability issues. 
  2. We work with students from UVic on sustainable business strategy projects
  3. We have partnered with NGOs such as Common Energy, that share Black Stilt values and mission
  4. Separate coffee grinds from compost for local residents’ gardens
  5. Sponsored the 2009 World Student Environmental Summit 
  6. Sponsor a number of local fundraising and community events (talk to us if you are in need of help!)
  7. All pennies and nickels go to the Oaklands Community Centre
  8. Local artists and employees commissioned to paint murals at each location
  9. Introduced MUCH healthier options! Ask our staff for details

*The Black Stilt has been carbon neutral since 2008.  Our greenhouse gas inventory was conducted through the Climate Smart Workshop and was calculated to be approximately 13 tonnes. Our GHG inventory was intensive and includes stage 3 sources.  This means we include the waste we produce, the transportation of staff to work, and even the emissions produced by our vendors' delivery trucks.  In other words, you couldn't get a more complete standing of carbon neutrality.  We offset our 13 tonnes of carbon through offsetters.ca supporting the biomass projects in Delta.  This year, we hope to support some work being done at the LaFarge plant in Richmond. Check this out for deets.