BLK & Bold Partners with SGS to Drive Sustainability

Strategic Insights -

BLK & Bold Specialty Beverages, the largest independently owned social impact coffee brand, has announced a new collaboration with SGS, the world's leading testing, inspection, and certification company, to deepen its commitment to environmental performance, focusing on climate change. As a Certified B Corporation, BLK & Bold is training its staff, measuring its carbon footprint, and defining opportunities to reduce emissions in the future. This journey is documented in a four-part docuseries titled 'BLK & Bold: A Journey Rooted in Coffee, Community, and Climate'.

Key Takeaways:

  • BLK & Bold is committed to reducing its environmental impact, with a focus on climate change, as a Certified B Corporation.
  • The company is collaborating with SGS to measure its carbon footprint and identify opportunities for emissions reduction.
  • BLK & Bold's production facility in Des Moines supplies its line of specialty roasts to more than 11,000 retail locations, including Target, Amazon, and Walgreens.
  • The company allocates 5% of gross profits to communities across the United States to empower underserved youth.
  • Disruptions to climate, such as rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall, have resulted in reduced coffee crop yields or lower-quality crops, affecting small towns like San Ignacio where BLK & Bold sources some of its coffee beans.
  • BLK & Bold is establishing its environmental key performance indicators, including greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
  • Thirty percent of the top 100 food and beverage companies in North America have yet to put in place top-down sustainability governance and tackle climate change seriously.

Statistics:

  • BLK & Bold's production facility is 33,000 square feet.
  • The company supplies its line of specialty roasts to more than 11,000 retail locations.
  • BLK & Bold allocates 5% of its gross profits to communities across the United States.
  • Ninety-five percent of residents of San Ignacio are connected to the coffee industry.
  • Thirty percent of the top 100 food and beverage companies in North America have yet to put in place top-down sustainability governance.

Sources:

  • Business of Global Warming (May 12, 2025).
  • BLK & Bold Specialty Beverages.
  • SGS.
  • NewsRx LLC.
  • Drake University's Zimpleman College of Business.