CSR in the Coffee Industry: Sustainability Issues at Nestlé-Nespresso and Starbucks

The coffee sector’s active engagement with sustainability issues appears to be a relatively new phenomenon. Even newer is the necessity to deal with recycling and waste. Next to the waste produced by the “coffee to go” mobile drinking culture and coffee bars, the popularity of coffee capsules – i.e. single-use containers made of metal or plastics – is creating mountains of waste unknown to the traditional method of brewing coffee. The pioneer in this premium coffee sector has been Nespresso, a subsidiary and brand of the Swiss company Nestlé. Many other companies – from discount retailers to big-brand coffee shop chains like Starbucks – have copied Nespresso’s machine-and-capsule concept, adding to both the popularity and the waste problem. Next to the problem of waste production, coffee companies are addressing the problem of ethical sourcing. A key but by no means the only element is sourcing via “fair trade” schemes. Assuming that finding answers to these sustainability challenges can have a crucial impact on future sales, this article sets out to explore coffee companies’ sustainability programmes, using the examples of Nespresso and Starbucks. It finds that both firms engage in rather similar activities, but some critical differences can be identified. Both firms have a successful record in ethical sourcing. But neither has yet developed convincing waste solutions. Nespresso’s insistence on using aluminium for its capsules remains a critical issue

Concentration-dependent effects of sodium cholate and deoxycholate bile salts on breast cancer cells proliferation and survival

Bile acids (BAs) are bioactive molecules that have potential therapeutic interest and their derived salts are used in several pharmaceutical systems. BAs have been associated with tumorigenesis of several tissues including the mammary tissue. Therefore, it is crucial to characterize their effects on cancer cells. The objective of this work was to analyse the molecular and cellular effects of the bile salts sodium cholate and sodium deoxycholate on epithelial breast cancer cell lines. Bile salts (BSs) effects over breast cancer cells viability and proliferation were assessed by MTS and BrdU assays, respectively. Activation of cell signaling mediators was determined by immunobloting. Microscopy was used to analyze cell migration, and cellular and nuclear morphology. Interference of membrane fluidity was studied by generalized polarization and fluorescence anisotropy. BSs preparations were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. Sodium cholate and sodium deoxycholate had dual effects on cell viability, increasing it at the lower concentrations assessed and decreasing it at the highest ones. The increase of cell viability was associated with the promotion of AKT phosphorylation and cyclin D1 expression. High concentrations of bile salts induced apoptosis as well as sustained activation of p38 and AKT. In addition, they affected cell membrane fluidity but not significant effects on cell migration were observed. In conclusion, bile salts have concentration-dependent effects on breast cancer cells, promoting cell proliferation at physiological levels and being cytotoxic at supraphysiological ones. Their effects were associated with the activation of kinases involved in cell signalling.Fil: Gándola, Yamila Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas "Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Fontana, Camila. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Química Biológica; ArgentinaFil: Bojorge, Mariana Andrea. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Química Biológica; ArgentinaFil: Luschnat, Tania T.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Química Biológica; ArgentinaFil: Moretton, Marcela Analía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Tecnología Farmacéutica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas "Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Chiapetta, Diego A.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas "Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Tecnología Farmacéutica; ArgentinaFil: Verstraeten, Sandra Viviana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas "Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez, Lorena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas "Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Físico-Química Biológicas; Argentin

CSR in the Coffee Industry: Sustainability Issues at Nestlé-Nespresso and Starbucks

The coffee sector’s active engagement with sustainability issues appears to be a relatively new phenomenon. Even newer is the necessity to deal with recycling and waste. Next to the waste produced by the “coffee to go” mobile drinking culture and coffee bars, the popularity of coffee capsules – i.e. single-use contrainers made of metal or plastics – is creating mountains of waste unknown to the traditional method of brewing coffee. The pioneer in this premium coffee sector has been Nespresso, a subsidiary and brand of the Swiss company Nestlé. Many other companies – from discount retailers to big-brand coffee shop chains like Starbucks – have copied Nespresso’s machine-and-capsule concept, adding to both the popularity and the waste problem. Next to the problem of waste production, coffee companies are addressing the problem of ethical sourcing. A key but by no means the only element is sourcing via “fair trade” schemes. Assuming that finding answers to these sustainability challenges can have a crucial impact on future sales, this article sets out to analyse and compare coffee companies’ sustainability programmes, using the examples of Nespresso and Starbucks. It finds that both firms engage in rather similar activities, but some critical differences can be identified. Both firms have a successful record in ethical sourcing. Both have not yet developed convincing waste solutions. Nespresso’s insistence on using aluminium for its capsules remains a critical issue.Keywords: Aluminium, coffee, consumers, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), environment, ethics, Nestlé, Nespresso, recycling, Most Similar Systems Design (MSSD), sourcing, Starbucks, sustainability, wasteFULL TEXT PDF only in English (toggle language: upper right hand corner

EMMA: Entwicklungsplattform fuer MultiMedia-Applikationen (Fachkonzept)

SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: RR 8166(97-01) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBayerische Forschungsstiftung, Muenchen (Germany)DEGerman