By Steve Coyne
Coffee courses through the veins of a university, and most students aim to balance price with taste. Stephanie Ferguson, President of the University of Calgary EcoClub, argues the environment should be a third consideration.
“You have to make your choice not on what the best deal is, but on what you’re sacrificing,” said Ferguson.
The EcoClub has identified the environmental issues associated with drinking coffee. A key part of this campaign was to score the environmental record of campus coffee establishments. Ferguson explained that the EcoClub evaluated 16 different campus coffee establishments on free trade, waste reduction and reusable container discounts. Good Earth came out on top with a score of 96.7 per cent while Benny’s and Hot Stuff Pizza were in last place with 6.7 per cent.
Another priority of the EcoClub is to encourage students to use travel mugs rather than wasteful alternatives, Ferguson said. The EcoClub has been accepting used travel mugs and selling them to students for $2 or less. Ferguson pointed out this is not only good for the environment, but also economical.
“Most businesses have a discount, but you have to ask about it,” Ferguson said.
The EcoClub coffee campaign will run a display in MacEwan Student Centre Mar. 31 – Apr. 1. Results of the rankings are available at www.ucalgary.ca/ecoclub.