Sustainability at Two Before Ten: A Hospitality Group Built on Circular Philosophy

Since 2023, Two Before Ten has been recognised as an accredited business through the ACT Government Sustainable Business Program, an initiative that supports local organisations to reduce emissions, improve efficiency and operate more responsibly.

The program helps businesses measure their environmental impact and identify practical ways to reduce waste, energy use and carbon emissions. For us, it formalised something we had already been working toward for years: building a hospitality model that is truly sustainable, because it is profitable, sources responsibly, reduces waste wherever it can and supports our people along the way.

Aranda: A case study in circular systems

The hospitality industry relies heavily on packaging and inevitably creates waste. Our takeaway cups, coffee bags and packaging are designed to be recyclable or compostable, helping minimise waste after your coffee leaves the café. In 2019 we introduced reusable timber crates and refillable tins for wholesale coffee deliveries, a change that prevents more than 15,000 single-use coffee bags from entering landfill annually. While these operational changes may seem small individually, across more than one million coffees served a year, they create a significant impact.

One of the most distinctive elements of the TBT approach is the Aranda Urban Farm, situated around the Aranda café. A once derelict building transformed into a thriving hub and home to the café, 10Yards, the Urban Farm and our neighbours Meet Gather Collect and Canberra Allied Health.

The farm produces seasonal vegetables, herbs and fruit that are harvested and delivered directly to our kitchens. This reduces transport emissions, minimises packaging and allows our chefs to cook with ingredients that are often picked the same morning they’re served.

Waste Reduction

In 2022, we installed an industrial composter at the Aranda Urban Farm allowing the composting food scraps, coffee grounds, garden waste, and compostable packaging directly on site. The system processes around 20 tonnes of waste each year, producing roughly four tonnes of nutrient-rich compost that is returned to the gardens. This circular system transforms café waste into the soil that grows the next season’s produce. Sustainability at Two Before Ten isn’t just about internal operations, it extends to the community around us. Our cafés encourage customers to bring reusable cups and containers, and we provide free coffee grounds and compost for local gardeners, helping keep organic material in use rather than wasted. We also run a produce exchange program, where the community can bring in excess produce from their home gardens and exchange it for coffee and food.

Continuing to Improve

We recently took the next step in reducing our environmental footprint by partnering with NaturalPak Australia. NaturalPak has been supplying packaging to Australian businesses for more than 40 years and is a member of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), a national initiative that works with businesses to reduce packaging waste and improve recycling outcomes across Australia. Through APCO, the company develops action plans that focus on sustainable materials, responsible sourcing and improved lifecycle outcomes for packaging.

The partnership also connects us with their sustainable distribution warehouse, Kahika Eco Hub, nestled in Grong Grong NSW. This hub has been designed as a fully self-sustaining logistics facility, powered by solar energy and supported by rainwater collection, natural lighting and battery storage systems. The facility also uses electric forklifts and efficiency-focused warehouse design to reduce energy use and environmental impact across storage and distribution.

In addition to improving our packaging, we’ve also committed to sourcing green beans through the Sucafina Impact Program. This program ensures the coffee we purchase supports ethical and environmentally responsible farming practices, with traceability across the supply chain. While it comes at an additional cost, we believe it’s a necessary investment to ensure that every cup served at Two Before Ten meets our standards for sustainability, quality and social responsibility.

Being recognised through the ACT Government Sustainable Business Program in 2023 marked an important milestone for Two Before Ten. It acknowledged the systems we had already built while helping us identify areas we can continue to improve. Sustainability isn’t something that can be solved with a single project or certification. It’s an ongoing process of refining how we operate and finding better ways to reduce our impact. For us, that means continuing to experiment with circular systems, local food production and smarter ways to manage waste.

If you’d like to see our sustainability initiatives in action, visit us at Aranda and take a stroll past the urban farm, where many of the ingredients on your plate begin. Learn more about the Sustainable Business Program here or explore the Kahika Eco Hub here or Sucafina Impact Program here.

References

• • ACT Government Sustainable Business Program. (2023). Sustainable Business Program. ACT Government.
  • Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO). (n.d.). Packaging sustainability and recycling initiatives in Australia.
  • NaturalPak Australia. (n.d.). Sustainable packaging solutions and distribution practices.
  • Kahika Eco Hub. (n.d.). Sustainable logistics and distribution facility.
  • Sucafina Impact Program. (n.d.). Ethical and sustainable coffee sourcing program.