Standing Stone Coffee Company is committed to be environmentally conscious with help from Energy Star equipment, locally and sustainably grown ingredients, composting and recycling, and recycled or compostable paper products.
It’s not just about enjoying life and the world now, but it’s also about enjoying it 50, 100, or 300 years from now. That means what we do and how we live has to matter. Standing Stone Coffee Company works hard to take this seriously.
What we have done:
- In our demolition phase, all metals, windows, and doors were recycled or re-used; old joists were sold to a company to make furniture out of them; insulation and other materials were donated to Habitat for Humanity, old tongue and groove flooring and walls were given to those who could use it for firewood to heat their homes in winter and as much quality materials as possible was re-used in our rebuilding process.
- We pulled old bricks from torn down houses out of the borough dump to use as sitting walls in the courtyard.
- We created a “thermal envelope” sealing off the exterior and using insulation all the way around to ensure the highest level of efficiency to heat and cool the café, taking the building to a 52R-value rating, way beyond Energy Star compliance.
- For all appliances possible, including the heating/cooling system we ensured it was Energy Star compliant. This included refrigerators, freezers, washers/ dryers, dishwashers, computers, hot water heater, etc.
What we are currently doing:
- We are sending all of our compost to a local farm, which then serves as a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for our community.
- Our hot water heater is a low-Nox power vent/direct vent system that reduces emissions from the high efficient natural gas heater. It also has a condenser which catches lost hot air and uses it for water heating, which takes the efficiency to 96%.
- Our Fresh Air Recovery system not only provide fresh hepa-filtered air to our guests, it also neutralizes humidity and external air temperature differences by crossing it with the current internal air. The helps save hundreds of dollars of heating and cooling energy costs annually.
- Our lighting system takes advantage of as many low-energy florescent, Xenon and LED bulbs as possible while not impacting the ambience of the cafe.
- We catch as much water runoff as possible from the upper roof and use it for irrigation of the planters in the courtyard.
- We buy as much local fresh produce as possible, which saves in energy costs in transporting the food to us. We also use as much non-frozen food as possible to ensure freshness and limit the energy use in storing and keeping the food
- We use bio-degradable to-go cups and straws, and our own in-store dishware to reduce and manage waste.
- Our paper products are made from recycled materials.
- We have coated the upper roof of the cafe with white sealer that reflects 89% of thermal heat, and 82% of the solar/UV spectrum, reducing energy bills by up to 40%
Future Plans:
- We plan to place a “live roof” and roof garden above the roasting and laundry rooms which will compensate for water displacement and run-off from the building and provide added insulation which will help both heating and cooling costs
- We hope to install a photo-voltaic (solar power) system on the roof above the cafe to compensate for our energy use.