From 2023, Café William promises a green transport of its coffee beans from South and Central America. The roaster has just invested in a first zero-emission sailing cargo boat to transport its raw material to its factories in Sherbrooke.
The ship is called Ceiba and will be sustainably built by the Costa Rican company Sailcargo. It can carry ten containers. Café William will be the main shareholder of the ship, she who has invested half a million US dollars to allow its construction. “We want to improve,” says Serge Picard, owner of Café William. Our beverage is the second most consumed on the planet. The first in North America. Over 85% of what is consumed is imported. Coffee does not grow in the Far North of Quebec. The carbon footprint is very heavy. We are therefore dedicated to limiting our footprint. ”
Currently, Café William’s coffee beans make the trip by container ship that burns fuel bunker. “It is the most polluting means of transport,” notes Serge Picard. It bothers us. During confinement, we therefore sought a solution. We committed with Sailcargo with our money, without subsidy. And we made a commitment to fill the boat completely for all the trips that come from South America. ”
the Ceiba will thus be able to accommodate other goods…. and have siblings that can carry 100 containers eventually. Sailcargo also presented its boat at COP26 in Glasgow. “We don’t want it to be exclusive,” says Serge Picard. We want it to make big waves so that we get rid of the oil as quickly as possible. ”
Café William imports coffee beans – 400 containers in 2021 – also from Africa and Asia. “There are currently 70,000 container ships listed in the world,” says Serge Picard. They emit more CO2 than the whole of Germany, which is the industrial lung of Europe. ”
For every tree used to build a boat, Sailcargo promises to replant ten. In addition, wind or not, the boat should each time arrive at its destination as planned, as it is equipped with a hybrid system, that is to say propellers also allowing propulsion with electricity. “This is a world first in the maritime freight industry,” said Danielle Doggett, founder and CEO of Sailcargo, in a statement. the Ceiba is a sustainably built vessel that will carry cargo, zero emissions. When commissioned in 2023, it will be the largest active and clean ocean freight ship in the world. ”
For its part, Café William also looked at how to deliver its coffee beans without emitting emissions to their destination, that is to Sherbrooke, once their provisions have been unloaded from the boat. “The aspect of land transport is about to be resolved,” says Serge Picard. An announcement should be made shortly. ”
Café William has been in existence since 1988 and has 190 employees in factories and offices in Sherbrooke, Detroit and New Jersey in particular.