We won’t forget the pride on Alex’s face, a local seventh-grader, as he held up his banjo.
Well, it was sort of a banjo - crafted from one of our recycled Waypoint Blend tins and a few extra heavy duty rubber bands. For a moment, the usual hum of the espresso grinder and the chatter of the cafe faded into the background, replaced by the unexpected twang of “Deck the Halls.” Alex called it his “Canjo.” It wasn’t fancy, but it was brilliant—proof that ordinary things can become extraordinary when approached with creativity and care.
For us, sustainability doesn’t always mean big, sweeping changes. It’s in the small stuff we do every day - from how we source and roast our beans, to how we build our cafes, and yes, even how we reuse our coffee tins!
Packaging with Purpose
We value sustainability because we care deeply about the planet, but it also just makes sense - for our teams, our customers, and our business. For us, sustainability goes hand-in-hand with sourcing locally and choosing real, high-quality materials. In other words, it’s at the core of what Real Good Coffee means.
That’s why we make our coffee tins from American steel, sourced and manufactured locally in Baltimore by Independent Can, a multi-generational, family-owned business that's been around for over 100 years. By sourcing locally, we significantly reduce the cost - and environmental impact - of transporting materials. Instead of shipping tins across oceans, we drive them down from Baltimore ourselves. Plus, it supports a community of local businesses that genuinely care about each other's success, right in our own backyard.
And because we insist on using top-quality American steel, our tins aren’t just recyclable - they’re incredibly durable. That makes them ideal for all kinds of second-life projects: vibrant planters, pen holders for your desk, piggy banks, or even musical instruments like Alex’s Canjo. (Seriously, if you can dream it, we’ve probably seen someone craft it from a Compass tin.)
Not feeling particularly crafty? We’ve got you covered. To encourage reuse, we offer $2 off coffee refills whenever you bring your tin back into the cafe. Our team even labels it with the refill date and the blend you choose. Curious how many refills one tin can handle? Let's just say we’ve got regulars proudly refilling tins they’ve kept since 2014.
We carried that same mindset into our Compass Coffee Nespresso pods, too. Choosing aluminum over plastic was an easy decision, even if it meant investing a little more - because aluminum pods are 100% recyclable. You get to enjoy the same Compass Coffee you love, without the waste or guilt. When you're done, just toss them into your recycling bin and sip easy.
From sourcing to packaging, sustainability guides every step of our supply chain - so you can feel good about every cup you brew.
Most people don’t think much about how their coffee gets roasted - but we do. And it matters.
In a traditional roaster, you’re heating raw coffee beans essentially over a burner - cranking the temperature up to 475°F and letting the hot air do the work. The problem? It’s messy. Roasting 100 pounds of coffee can produce up to 20 pounds of smoke, ash, and other particulate matter. That’s a lot of waste - most of which gets released straight into the air.
That’s where our custom-built Loring roaster comes in. It’s not just efficient - it’s engineered for sustainability. While the beans roast at around 450°F, the exhaust stack sits at a blazing 1700°F. Instead of sending smoke straight out the chimney, we recirculate that hot exhaust air through the stack. It gets reheated, cleansed of even more particulates, and reused to keep the roast going. Believe it or not, our roasters can roast coffee all day and consume only 20% of the fuel that a traditional coffee roaster would need to roast the same volume of coffee!
This closed-loop system does two critical things:
- It recycles heat, so we use far less energy to roast each batch.
- It dramatically reduces emissions by incinerating most of the particulate matter before it ever hits the air.
And what little waste remains? It’s captured, cooled with water, and collected in a drum next to the roaster. From there, we compost it. No plumes of smoke. No wasted energy. Just real good coffee, roasted with real care for the planet.
Rooted in Relationships
You should feel as good about drinking our coffee as we do about making it. And that starts with where - and how- it’s grown.
We believe great coffee comes from great relationships. That’s why we’ve spent years building long-term partnerships with farmers who care for their land, their people, and the quality of every harvest. Sustainability isn’t a checklist - it’s a way of working, grounded in trust and shared values.
One of our longest-standing partners is Finca La Democracia, a family-run farm in Huehuetenango, Guatemala. Back in 2014, when we opened our first café, they were the first farm we ever bought a full bag of coffee from. Since then, we’ve grown alongside each other - sharing late-night conversations on the farm, learning from each harvest, and building something real season after season.
Their coffee is 100% shade-grown and bird-friendly, produced using methods that protect the soil, preserve biodiversity, and support long-term sustainability. They’re proof that when you take care of the earth, it gives back in kind - one perfect coffee cherry at a time.
Because we stay close to the people growing our coffee, we can be confident that every cup is grounded in ethical and environmentally responsible practices. From seed to sip, it’s all connected.
Building Better
Okay, so you’ve heard how we roast, source, and package with sustainability in mind, but did you know our cafes are built that way, too?
Every time we open a new cafe, we treat it as another chance to do things the right way starting with the bones of the building. We source as many construction materials locally as we can (which means less shipping and fewer emissions), and we pack our spaces with energy-efficient upgrades that make a real difference.
- LED Lighting: Most of our cafes are outfitted entirely with LED bulbs, which use up to 75% less electricity than traditional incandescent bulbs and last up to 25 times longer.
- High-Efficiency Water Heaters: Instead of heating a big tank of water all day, we use systems that heat water only when needed - cutting energy use by about 40%.
- Nest Thermostats: Smart thermostats help us use less heating and air conditioning by learning our daily patterns and automatically powering down after closing time.
We make these investments in every space we build, not just because they’re smart, but because they’re the right choice for the planet and the people we serve. It's all part of making sure your next cup of coffee is brewed in a space that’s as thoughtful as the drink itself.
Small Choices, Big Changes
Alex and his Canjo remind us that sustainability doesn’t have to be big or flashy. It’s about the small, thoughtful choices we make every day - and in the creativity that turns something as simple as a coffee tin into a totally unexpected reminder that we are literally surrounded by opportunities to reduce our impact on the earth.
At Compass, this isn’t just a once-a-year campaign. It’s built into who we are - from the farms we work with, to the way we roast, to the tins and pods and machines we use to serve your daily cup. Earth Day is a great moment to reflect, but the work happens year-round.
Because when we make better choices together - day by day, sip after sip - we’re not just brewing coffee. We’re building a more sustainable future, one habit, one conversation, one cup at a time.
