Sustainability is a vital asset for companies, but it is also a complex, multi-faceted subject. Yes, it is of course about saving energy and reducing waste, but also about the wellbeing of those on the production side of things, those serving behind the counter and the safety of the customers themselves.

And then there is the “democratisation” of special coffees: their spread to a broader consumer base. It is something that Simonelli Group has been involved in with the latest arrival of the Victoria Arduino brand. “Quality coffee is becoming a lifestyle phenomenon as more and more people go in search of increasingly exclusive coffee experiences, also in places not strictly connected with coffee shops, and with quite restricted work spaces: food trucks, boutiques, restaurants, offices and so on,” explains the group’s vice president and sales manager Marco Feliziani. On the sustainability front we have come up with a technology capable of heating the water quickly and ensuring high performance levels, while increasing energy efficiency: the water boilers are smaller in size, and they are clad in an insulating material to prevent energy loss.

Dalla Corte has brought the technology devoted to the world of specialty coffee to the individual brewing units. “In this idea of ours, the counter is divided into a number of coffee corners, not just to make the best use of the area where espressos of various kinds are served, but also to respond to the new need to maintain the right distance between workers,” the company says. “As for sustainability, the fact that the boiler can be switched off when not in use or that just one brewing unit can be used while the others are switched off has an impact on energy consumption, which of course reduces running costs. We were also the first to use lead-free materials in all our machinery.”

Technology and safety are important factors at La San Marco, as its CEO Roberto Nocera explains: “Our efforts have centred on protecting the health of baristas and customers, but also on maintaining the authenticity of a moment in the day that has a strong cultural, historical and social value here in Italy. We are investing in the development of machinery with an ever more functional design, with surfaces that are easy to keep clean and the use of materials free of harmful substances. And the design aspect extends into the architecture of the spaces, suggesting a new dynamic approach to how the bar is used.”

The company’s two-sided machine helps to ensure that the right distance is maintained between those working on them, and also increases the usable space behind the counter, making it possible to create separate service areas. Meanwhile an app allows monitoring of the machines from various locations, with the possibility of actually operating them remotely from a smartphone.