Back to the Roots

Vital Stats

Emeryville, CA

people helped5000
People Doing It 29

The Problem

We want to solve these 4 urban problems: 1) Waste Dumping: How many lbs of coffee grounds can we reuse out of the 16 billion lbs / yr that mostly end up in landfills. Our collection consists of coffee houses around San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley. 2) Education: How many kids can we inspire to be more aware of the environment through our workshops such as “0 Waste Hands-on Sustainability”. Our school programs involve students from mainly Bay Area Elementary schools and we are expanding our network nationwide. 3) Empowerment: How many school & community gardens can we create 4) Low-wealth Job-creation: How many green-collar jobs can we create at our warehouse in West Oakland.

Plan of Action

We firmly believe in a more responsible world by innovating on urban waste streams in our community and turning waste into not only wages, but also fresh, healthy food. Back to the Roots looks to turn the intangible “green” movement into a standard way of life while upholding utmost responsibility in its urban society. We were successful in recycling over 100,000 lbs of coffee grounds and growing our revenue five-fold in 2011. Our projected revenues for 2012 are a further five-fold increase and we plan to connect with over 2,500 Elementary schools around the country through our 1 for 1 campaign (where posting a picture of your kit results in a donation of one to a school of your choice). Our product allows us to sell the same kits in a wide spectrum of markets from Sam’s Club to Home Depot to Whole Foods and even Williams Sonoma without changing it and not many companies can say this. We are tackling this vision by creating unique, sustainable products for our customers, which provide enjoyment and inspiration across every household.