Global innovation and change program SPRUNGG
B Corp month is a month-long campaign celebrated in different countries to raise awareness of how B Corps are using business as a force for good. In 2020, now more than ever, there’s a need to support each other as we navigate our way through extraordinary times.
In this blog, we share an interview between Design-Led Innovator, Collaborator and Global Strategist, Jacqueline Wilson-Smith and Founding Director of Montville Coffee, Karen Barnett.
They discuss the first session of a global innovation and change program SPRUNGG that took place last week.
JWS: Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and how you got to where you are today?
KB: Before Montville Coffee, I was a high school teacher. My family started Montville Coffee 20 years ago because we wanted locally roasted Fairtrade Organic coffee to be available in Australia and we wanted to learn how a business could contribute to community and to the world.
JWS: Why did you enrol in SPRUNGG?
KB: I have been excited by the United Nations vision to use global goals as a way to bring the world together to end poverty since I was in university. SPRUNGG brings together many local food businesses on the Sunshine Coast with global leaders to accelerate our contribution to these global goals.
JWS: What problems is SPRUNGG helping you solve?
KB: It’s hard to talk about the UNs Sustainable Development Goals on a daily basis in a coffee manufacturing business. We work incredibly hard to roast and distribute fantastic Fairtrade Organic coffee, but we don’t always have time to talk about WHY we are doing what we are doing. SPRUNGG gives us time to get together to talk about the goal of our business and to learn from and with others.
JWS: How do you think the future of your business will look after completing SPRUNGG?
KB: The impact of COVID 19 for us has been a downturn in sales and the resulting loss of team members. Our business has had to change dramatically, and we have been feeling a lot of uncertainty and grief. This program is part of our rebuilding and our reconnection to why we do what we do. We roast Fairtrade Organic coffee sources from small producers, many of them women, because we see this as our way to use our business as a force for good. Reconnecting to our WHY and to each other is going to help us to innovate, change and contribute more to the world.
JWS: SPRUNGG uses the UNSDGs as a sustainable framework to help business create better and change for food. I’m interested to know which UNSDGs are you personally motivated in working towards and why?
KB: Goal #5 Gender Equality is my personal motivator. I want to share an image with you that I love that describes humanity as a bird with two wings, one is female and the other is male. As long as one wing is not fully developed, the bird cannot fly and humanity will not attain the heights that it is striving towards.
JWS: Which SDGs would you like Montville Coffee to make an impact on and why?
KB: Goal #12 Responsible Consumption and Production and Goal # 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth. Montville Coffee has a responsibility to constantly review our supply chain to make adjustments that will benefit every one of our stakeholders and the planet. We are also committed to the belief that decent work is a basic human right and contributes to an individual’s sense of dignity and self-worth. We see that being an employer and as part of a global supply chain is a sacred trust.
JWS: Thank you Karen.
If you would like to learn about SPRUNGG visit the website https://sustainableinnovationco.com or get in touch with Karen to learn more about her experience.
