BLENDING

VALUES:
THE SEARCH FOR THE IDEAL
COFFEE CUP


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1
Our Goal .................................................................................................................................................... 1
Stakeholder .............................................................................................................................................. 1
Problem Definition ................................................................................................................................... 1
The Importance of Solving This Problem ............................................................................................... 2
Organization of The Report .................................................................................................................... 3

Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 4
Indicators ................................................................................................................................................. 5
Local ......................................................................................................................................................... 5
Environmental ......................................................................................................................................... 7
Social ...................................................................................................................................................... 10
Financial .................................................................................................................................................. 11

Findings ........................................................................................................................................ 12
Recommendations ....................................................................................................................... 14
Contact Information .................................................................................................................... 19


Introduction
OUR GOAL

Our goal in accepting to consult on this problem is to provide C DICI with an extensive
investigation on which coffee cup would be the best, based on the values of their
organization, to serve one of their primary products coffee in.

STAKEHOLDER

C DICI is a social enterprise
that was founded by
approximately
24
francophone organizations
based in, and around, the
area of Fredericton, New
Brunswick. The caf is based
out
of
the
Centre
Communautaire Sainte-Anne
and caters to a wide clientele.
This includes students and
parents of the cole Sainte-
Anne community, other
members of the local
Francophone
community,
and citizens of Fredericton.
Faced with the unique
challenge
of
splitting
ownership amongst many
groups, C DICI has been
successful thus far as it relates to maintaining collective partnerships.

PROBLEM DEFINITION

C DICIs problem lies in their need to find a coffee cup that suits all of the values of the 24
involved organizations. In order to contribute to CE DICIs continuing success, we sought
to solve their problem while considering the values of their various stakeholders.
Consistent with C DICIs connection with local businesses and individuals, this endeavor

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was a collaborative effort, utilizing the expertise of more than 30 researchers and analysts.
In January of 2013, we were by The Collectif conomique DInnovation Culturelle (C DICI)
to solve a problem they had been facing since the opening of the caf. This problem
originated from a seemingly easy decision: choosing the right coffee cup for the caf.

When the general public purchases a take-out coffee, the choice of cup is a rather
unimportant one. In a capitalist marketplace, the bottom line is often the only concern, so
retailers choose the least expensive cup on the market. However, C DICI has a
commitment to social enterprise, and as such our search for the ideal coffee cup was
shaped by four main priorities, listed here in order of importance:

1. Buying Local
2. Environmental
Sustainability
3. Social Justice
4. Financial
Feasibility

THE IMPORTANCE OF
SOLVING THIS
PROBLEM
Although choosing a coffee
cup is not typically the most
pressing issue that a
business could face, the
importance of such a decision cannot be undermined. As an organization that prides itself
on remaining socially responsible and giving back to the community, it is crucial that we
find a coffee cup that promotes such values (buying local, environmental sustainability,
social justice, and financial feasibility). As the chosen product will ultimately be
representative of the stakeholders themselves, it is important that the cup meshes well
with the values of all parties involved. In addition, the coffee cup must be within a
reasonable price range so not to hinder C DICIs ability to turn a profit.

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INDICATORS
BUYING LOCAL
C DICI places great importance in buying local products and supporting local businesses -
this was taken into consideration when the local indicator was created.
We first divided the indicator into two sections - manufacturer and distributor. These two
sections were then divided into geographic regions, each of which was assigned a specific,
weighted point value.

Point Value Assigned

Geographic Region

8
6

Within the city of Fredericton

Within the province of New Brunswick

4
3
1
0

Within Eastern Canada (QC, NS, PEI, NFL)

Within Canada
Within North America
International

The value we placed on the first two locations is clear, as the economy directly affected by
purchasing within those two regions is either our community or the province. We assigned
a greater value to manufacturers or distributors that are located in Easter Canada than
those located in the rest of Canada bearing in mind the potential for economic spillover as
each of these provinces borders our own.
Within the borders of Canada is the next
regional boundary, for buying the cup
from a Canadian manufacturer or
distributor will benefit the Canadian
economy. We allotted one point for a cup
manufactured or distributed within North
America, although it is still outside
Canadian borders, following the same
reasoning behind the value allotted to
Eastern Canada - the potential for
economic spillover from the United States
into Canada.
We do not consider international trade to be local. Therefore, manufacturers and
distributors located outside of North America were assigned zero points.

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During the analyzing process of the local indicator, it was quite common for cups to score
low as many are mass-produced in places such as China and the United States.
After assigning the geographic regions and the values associated with them, we proceeded
to retrieve information on the locations of the manufacturers and distributors for all 250+
of the coffee cups and scored them accordingly. The maximum points obtainable are 16.

*Pages 5-11, 14-19 omitted due

to size of report *

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FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Our process of determining the most ideal coffee cup for C DICI was both well thought-
out and meticulously collaborated over by thirty individuals. This allowed us to discuss,
evaluate, and determine what would be the best process for finding a coffee cup that best
reflected the core values of C DICI. Because of the tailored precision of our indicators,
one can rest assure that the best coffee cup for C DICI is the one that rose to the top of
the ranks when compared to the 250+ other contenders.

TOP EIGHT

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

World Art Eco Hot Cup

12 oz. BARE Item #SOL412PLN
Evolution World Hot Cup
BARE post consumer fiber (PCF) Item ID: VL340007
World Art Insulated Cups
BARE Single Sided PLA Item ID: VL340007
12 Oz. Bitro Design Item #SOL412SIN
Blue Stripe Limited Edition

Recommendation
The amount of collaborative
work that comprised this project
taught us the value of precision
and having a holistic approach to
problem solving.
We are confident that the best
cup for C DICI is the:

World Art Eco Hot Cup.

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