Bigelow Tea’s Sustainability Journey: Programs, People, and Progress

Updated: April 6, 2026

Bigelow Tea is a Certified B Corporation powered by 100% renewable energy which is Green-e® certified, with Zero-Waste-to-Landfill facilities since 2012 and a B Impact Score of 103.1 as of 2025. Sustainability has been part of the company’s DNA since Ruth Campbell Bigelow founded the business more than 80 years ago. 

At Bigelow Tea, honoring and executing sustainability practices is not just a daily or month-long event, it's a commitment ingrained in our culture. Under Cindi Bigelow’s leadership, third generation president and CEO, Bigelow Tea has developed ecologically sound practices that are carried throughout the organization which ranges from maintaining Zero-Waste-to-Landfill operations since 2012 and earning the designation of being a Green-e® Certified company in 2020 to being a Certified B Corporation since 2019.

Bigelow Tea has since recertified as a B Corp in 2022 and again in 2025, achieving a B Impact Score of 103.1, well above the minimum score of 80 required to gain certification and the median score of 50.9 for businesses that complete the B Impact Assessment. 

Bigelow Tea’s commitment to environmental stewardship has been part of the company’s DNA since the tea business was founded by Ruth Campbell Bigelow over 80 years ago. Today, these efforts are supported and driven by the Bigelow Green Team.

What Sustainability Certifications Does Bigelow Tea Hold?

Bigelow Tea holds the following third-party verified sustainability certifications: Certified B Corporation, first certified 2019, recertified 2022 and 2025, B Impact Score 103.1

• Green-E® Certified, 100% renewable energy across all facilities

•  Zero-Waste-to-Landfill, maintained across all manufacturing facilities since 2012
  

What is the Bigelow Green Team?

Every day is Earth Day at Bigelow Tea, thanks to the Green Team. Comprised of passionate employees from every department who are committed to driving real change, the Bigelow Green Team not only represents a culture of environmental consciousness throughout the organization, but also actively spearheads sustainability efforts year-round. Bi-monthly meetings across all facilities serve as a platform for brainstorming, implementing, and tracking the success of strategies in order to reduce Bigelow Tea’s ecological footprint. The result? A greener workplace that not only encourages employees to adopt sustainable lifestyles but also ensures that Bigelow Tea as a whole minimizes its environmental impact. 

Green Team Highlights: Actions That Make An Impact 

How does Bigelow Tea engage with nature and local communities?

From nurturing pollinator pathways at Bigelow Tea's headquarters in Fairfield, CT to organizing community clean-up events with River Discovery and Idaho Rivers United, the Green Team is at the forefront of helping employees engage with nature. Each spring, they kick off the season by greening up Bigelow Tea’s various locations while also hosting educational sessions on the importance of protecting pollinators such as bees. Additionally, the ten year old community garden at headquarters in Connecticut has become a wonderful example of giving back by donating fresh grown produce to local charity, Bridgeport Rescue Mission (BRM).

Through initiatives like the annual Bigelow Tea Community Challenge, the company has raised more than $3 million for local charities since 1988.

How does Bigelow Tea support land preservation?

Bigelow Tea is committed to land preservation by sustainably preserving the Charleston Tea Garden, supporting the The UN's Sustainable Development Goal 15. Located on Wadmalaw Island in South Carolina, the 127-acre garden is home to over 320 varieties of the Camellia sinensis tea plant and is the largest producer of tea grown 100% in America. 

Preserving the natural heritage of the land is central to how the garden operates. No pesticides or herbicides are used, meaning all weeds are removed by hand every day, every season. Waste from tea processing is reused as mulch in the tea fields, promoting a circular approach to land management. The Charleston Tea Garden is also Green-E® certified. 

How does Bigelow Tea reduce and manage waste?

Our Green Team leads by example when it comes to waste management. Through innovative ventures like upcycling supply chain materials into winter decorations and collecting old holiday cards for creative art projects for the St. Jude’s Ranch for Children art program. Going forward we will be working with Revive Art & Craft Supply Shop of Middletown, CT, a store that supports the arts, reduces landfill waste and celebrates community-driven creativity, who will upcycle these cards into creative projects. Each employee strives to minimize the company’s environmental impact. With a steadfast commitment to maintaining zero-waste-to-landfill facilities, the Green Team ensures that waste reduction remains a top priority.

Maintaining Zero-Waste-to-Landfill facilities since 2012 means at least 95% of our waste has been diverted from landfills through methods like composting food scraps in the cafeteria, recycling excess materials, and donating reusable shipping boxes to food pantries. 

How does Bigelow Tea manage energy use?

Bigelow Tea is powered by 100% renewable energy!  Bigelow Tea is Green-E® certified meaning facilities are powered by natural energy sources in Idaho, Kentucky and Connecticut. 870 solar panels on the roof of our Connecticut headquarters, for example, converts sunlight into electrical energy. Within the workplace, the Green Team collaborates with the IT department to educate employees on energy-saving practices like dark mode and energy vampire awareness. Through seasonal office audits and departmental competitions, the team encourages everyone to take proactive steps towards conserving energy and reducing our carbon footprint. We have also hosted lunch and learns for employees to hear from our local utility companies about reducing energy consumption and cost at home. 

We are also on a mission to address vampire energy which are devices that continue to use energy and drain power even when turned off. The Bigelow Green Team educates employees about phone chargers, computer cords, coffee pots and more and then audits corporate offices quarterly to track usage. Raising awareness has effectively changed employee behavior as data from each internal audit shows an increase in the number of employees who turned off these devices which has saved considerable electricity usage for the company overall.

 Bigelow Tea’s Green Team Best Practices Tips

• Schedule monthly meetings, structure is important.
• Build a flexible and diverse team so every department is represented; all voices matter and provide valuable insights.
• Include interns by educating them on all sustainability programs and engage them in hosting sustainability-focused activities. This includes harvest produce for donation at our community garden weekly. Great ideas emerge through our collaborations.
• Divide and conquer all tasks. Every Green Team member brings strengths and each department has ideas on how to execute the greening ideas that have been accepted. This is not a one-person effort. With everyone being fully committed to the sustainability programs, we have achieved great success over the years.

More Insights From The Bigelow Tea Green Team

Three generations of the Bigelow family and 450 employees which includes the Bigelow Green Team are deeply committed to a purpose far beyond making profits, where the aim is to always do better through good citizenship, ethical business practices, accountability and transparency, protecting the environment, sustainability and supporting communities local to all Bigelow Tea facilities.