That’s a Wrap – Stronger Together Online Summit

Just finished a series of online events in collaboration with Responsible Cafes who have a network of 5,000 cafes across Australia. We had a terrific line up of speakers and café innovators and covered a wide range of topics.

The objective was to drive positive change in the cafe industry, to increase customer engagement, reduce waste and carbon emissions, secure sustainable supply chains and drive cafe profitability. Already café initiatives are popping up to engage the broader community in activities that create positive environmental and social impact while building cafe brands and customer loyalty.  

I would like to thank all of the speakers who gave their time and wisdom to the network so freely. Check out the event programs and speakers below.

The next step is to continue my support of the responsible cafe network through targeted training. Watch this space for news of an online course – where café entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs can take themselves through a step by step pathway to succeed as a responsible café. Or for those who want to lead in their café or their community, we will be announcing Leadership Labs in the near future. If you can’t wait for the announcements, feel free to contact me for more info.

THANKS TO OUR SPEAKERS

LAUNCH EVENT – How can we reimagine the future of responsible cafés?

• Stephen Thorpe – a Gunnai & Gunditjmara man living in Naarm (Melbourne) and mentor of student chefs at Charcoal Lane – one of Australia’s leading indigenous restaurants – started the event with an acknowledgement of country. 
• Janet Salem – United Nations Economic Affairs Officer spoke of global issues of food waste and single use plastic and how the UN engages with small businesses such as cafes.
• Dr Adam Carr – resident coffee expert at Seven Miles’ Coffee Roasters spoke of industry trends from his research paper titled Café 2025.
• Hana Assafiri – Founder of the famous Moroccan Soup Bar gave us a café prospective and how she survived the hardships of lockdown in Melbourne.
• Sarah Wilson – Responsible Café Ambassador spoke of the idea of moral courage and how we all need to uncover our personal values to find purpose in work.
• We had a few others join us for a panel discussion including Sav Aceto, Rachel Glasbergen and Michael McFarlane.

1^st ACTION SUMMIT – How can we use design thinking and circular thinking for café innovation?

• Sally Hill – NSW Circular Economy explained the concept of circular economy thinking and how it can be applied to cafes.
• Kim Potter – Circular Cafes gave us practical challenges faced by cafes in implementing new circular thinking as well as some great innovations in cafes in the Northern Rivers region of NSW.
• Sav Aceto & Lachlan Welsh – From I am Not Paper – gave us some great insight into design thinking and how they have used it to create compostable products for cafes.

2^nd ACTION SUMMIT – How can we secure sustainable supply chains for cafe success?

• Molly Harriss Olson – CEO Fair Trade Australia New Zealand gave us some insight into how the fair trade movement works and its positive impact on farming communities.
• Jen Sheridan – Director of Open Food Network described what a fair, local and transparent food system looks like and how cafes can benefit from supporting this system.
• Michael McFarlane – Manager at Huskee Cup told us the Huskee Story and how this company is seeking to help cafes through Huskee Cup, Huskee Swap and Huskee Loop.
• Veronica Shannon – Founder & CEO at Retub joined our panel to discuss best ways to secure café supply chains.     

3^rd ACTION SUMMIT – How can we create a positive impact on people and the planet?

• Dr Adam Carr – resident coffee expert at Seven Miles’ Coffee Roasters joined us again to discuss the environmental impacts of a café and the best ways to reduce this impact and café costs along the way.
• Rachel Glasbergen – Manager at The Alternative Dairy Co spoke about milk alternatives and ways the company is addressing their environmental footprint.
• Marion Vigot – Co-Founder of Compostable Alternatives explained the difference between commercially compostable and home compostable products and how cafes can choose the best packaging options.
• Jo Horsley – Responsible Cafes gave us some examples of how member cafes are addressing their social impact and some great campaigns underway to engage the broader community in sustainable practice.

4^th ACTION SUMMIT – How can we share responsible café stories and engage the community?

• Jane Stewart – This time I became the interviewee and spoke of my experience in business sustainability over the last 20 years and why I thought this push towards sustainability for cafes was so important. I also spoke of my Innovation Cycle and how cafes can embed responsible practice across their operations.
• Catherine Leach – Creative Director at Catfish Creative and one of the Founders of Responsible Cafes – gave us some insight into the network, how it started and how it is exceeding their original expectations with such an active group of 5,000 cafes across Australia.
• Claire Maloney – Founder of The Bravery PR agency – gave a full presentation on recent research into what concerns Australians as well as the best tell your café story with impact and authenticity.

THANKS TO OUR CAFE LEADERS

I would also like to thank all the café leaders who gave their time to tell us their story and share their experiences in driving change across their business and in their community.

• Organic Republic Bakery – Muz
• Moon Rabbit Café – Samantha Fisher
• Eeny Meeny Cafe – Robbie Wright
• Merri Café – Hemi Reidy
• Cat & Cow Café – Lenka
• Home One Café (Society Melbourne) – Tenille Gilbert
• Wild Thing Cafe – Grant Eastwood & Judy Barley
• Kwila Café – Mel
• Acre Farm – Stevie Lee Montfroy

If you would like to find out more about our Stronger Together Café Summit visit the Responsible Café website.