Warren Emblidge Focuses on Sustainability at McCullagh

Many of us know McCullagh Coffee as a mainstay in Buffalo's food & beverage sector for almost 150 years, supplying many businesses throughout Western New York with high quality coffee and related products.  What is less well known is the environmental leadership position that McCullagh has taken under the guidance of its owner and president, Warren Emblidge. In addition to setting  McCullagh on a path to sustainability by 2017, Emblidge helped found and remains a leading light in the Upstate Green Business Network (UGBN) whose mission is to guide companies in establishing environmental policies and procedures to reduce company waste, conserve water, save energy and build a more sustainable workplace.

Insyte: How do you define sustainability?

Emblidge: Well, there are three legs and the first is economic viability. You can't sell a product that's sustainable if nobody wants to buy it. Next we have to do the right thing for the environment with a minimum impact. I like to use the boy scout analogy of leaving the campsite better than we found it. Lastly, there has to be social justice for the people involved in all aspects of the business… you're not going to use slave labor to have coffee. Ultimately, that's not going to work.

Insyte: What led you to begin your focus on sustainability at McCullagh?

Emblidge: I'd always had that orientation and then I went to the Rainforest Alliance 20th Anniversary Conference in 2007. I spent three days thinking about sustainability and realized that it was something I wanted to do, something that was important to McCullagh's future.

Insyte: What has your experience been in championing sustainability?

Emblidge: It's been frustrating with a capital 'F' (laughing) because people don't think about this the way I do… The big picture is dire. If you look at any of our natural resources, be they oil or any minerals, the USA consumes about 25% with only 5% or 10% of the world's population. Then you add the demand from places like China and India and there is simply not enough to go around. This is a real problem. Are we going to have oil at $140/barrel? The USA cannot survive that. Now that's the big picture, but in contrast here at McCullagh we have a supervisor who everyday tries to use less to do more. He has saved us tremendous amounts of money. A simple example: he reuses spare parts; there is no such thing as a silver bullet.

Insyte: What are you most proud of?

Emblidge: I think we're most proud of just getting started (laughing). Beyond that it would be our product line called Ecoverde (editor's note - this coffee was specifically developed by McCullagh as a sustainable new product). It's a holistic attempt because it means the coffee at its origin is grown under Rainforest Alliance conditions. The packaging is compostable, biodegradable and net carbon neutral. Its cost is no greater than traditional coffee and we've won numerous taste tests against the major brands. So I would say that's pretty good. If it's sustainable from Buffalo it's got to be good (laughing). The quality is there, the price is right and the sustainability is free.

From a personal perspective, I'm proudest of raising my three kids with my wife. They all went to excellent schools, were graduated on time and found jobs prior to graduation. Importantly they married wonderful spouses. In short they are contributing to society.

Insyte: What are you most disappointed about?

Emblidge: Frankly, I've been disappointed in my fellow businessmen. I don't want to be critical, but I thought that more sustainability actions would be done voluntarily.

Insyte: What keeps you in Buffalo?

Emblidge: We've been here 143 years! We have customers here. We also have a competent, dedicated workforce that's here and my wife and I love it. I'm originally from Buffalo. I went to Kenmore West High School. So that's why we're here. But there have been overtures from South Carolina and others to relocate.

Insyte: Would you ever consider a move?

Emblidge: This is a terrible business environment. We could relocate elsewhere and reduce our government-related cost by probably 50%. That's a "back-of-the-envelope" analysis, but it's not far off. So that would be a factor. The other is that we do more and more of our business outside the area, which is good because it offsets the general decline in upstate New York. But it's bad because then there is less reason to stay here. So there is this tug of war, this tension between the advantages of staying here and swallowing the disadvantages versus relocating.

Insyte: If there were one thing that you could change in the area, what would it be?

Emblidge: To be able to buy 4.5¢ per kwh electricity, green and renewable, from the Niagara Falls Powerplant. If we could have that, we would have a flood of new businesses that would want to relocate here. We wouldn't even need economic development departments – businesses would be here despite the other disadvantages. I think it costs 2¢ or a little less to produce, but we currently pay about 14¢, the difference is nothing but taxes. We're competing against a State of Washington roaster that has 4.5¢ renewable electricity. Walmart doesn't care where they get their coffee.

Insyte: What originally brought you to McCullagh?

Emblidge: I worked on the unsuccessful public offering at Goldome in 1983. So I decided I needed a Plan B which was to buy a company. I worked on it for three years and knew the former owner. He invited me to lunch one day and asked if I'd like to buy his business. I told him no. He said that was a great negotiation tactic (laughing). But we kept talking and three years later we closed on the deal.

Insyte: What is your approach to leadership and managing your business?

Emblidge: I think it's important that the president not be the focal point of the business. You've got important people in the office who answer the phones and relate to customers, people on the production line that package the coffee-they're more important than I am as far as the customer is concerned. My job is to support our team. What I can do best is provide the right environment for people to excel.

Insyte: What do you mean be the “right environment?”

Emblidge: Do they want to come in every morning? Let's get down to basics. So the first thing is, do they really want to come in and why do they want to come in? Part of it is compensation, but it's really much, much more than that. Everyone wants to feel appreciated and needed. I probably don't complement our people enough, but that's what a CEO of a successful company does. I also think you've got to provide overall guidance. In our case, I've talked about being sustainable by our 150th Anniversary. That does two things: first, it communicates that we're going to be around for our 150th and still in business. Then the other thing is just being sustainable because...if we can really achieve sustainability, it gives our staff more to think about than just coming in and plugging away. They're also thinking about a higher social and economic good.

Insyte: What do you do for fun with the little free time you have?

Emblidge: I play the piano. I have a band. It's the one thing I do for myself. It's all jazz-mainstream jazz, American songbook stuff. We play at the local private clubs. Everyone has to do one thing for themselves…and for me that's playing the piano. I also own a sailboat. I was a finalist in the Olympic Trials back in 1964. I'm over the hill now, but I still know the bow from the stern.

Insyte: You certainly do know where you're heading. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us.