Driven by commodity price volatility, raw material scarcity risk and brand reputation, among other things, the business community has worked hard to develop new processes, techniques, products and services to build a more sustainable future. Just look at the clean-energy revolution, being led by the likes of Apple, Ikea and Google, or the efforts of modular-carpet business Interface in disrupting traditional manufacturing models.
While the challenges remain huge – and each company can only ever really make a small contribution to solving them – we have been working hard to drive reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Since 2009, Nespresso has been reducing its carbon footprint per cup of coffee by 20% across the business. And we aim to reduce our operational carbon footprint by another 10% by 2020.
But we have a big responsibility to go further.
Knowing the challenges of our coffee regions, we are also acutely aware of the changes that are already occurring and impacting coffee farmers. Adapting our supply chain and making it more resilient are becoming priorities – especially when just 1-2% of the world’s coffee in the world has the quality and taste our products require.
That is why, for the past 13 years, we have used our innovative AAA Sustainable Quality Program, created with the Rainforest Alliance, to develop a more sustainable, deforestation-free supply chain of high-quality coffees – protecting the livelihoods of farmers and improving farm ecosystems by promoting water conservation, preserving and planting shade trees and protecting wildlife. In fact, farmers must satisfy 36 biodiversity criteria to be part of the AAA Program.
We provide regular training and technical assistance to more than 70,000 farmers across 12 coffee-producing countries, supporting them to implement more sustainable farming practices. A recent independent study performed in Colombia found that farms taking part in our AAA Program had 22.6% better social conditions, 41% better economic conditions and 52% better environmental conditions than non-AAA farms.
But we’re keen to take things further – to consider the wider landscape in which our supplier farms operate.
As part of our 2020 sustainability strategy, The Positive Cup, we are promoting agroforestry practices in and around farms in the regions we source from.
And there is a good reason for this. We want to increase the coffee farms’ resilience to climate change by protecting, regenerating and improving coffee ecosystems. This will, in turn, secure the future of coffee farms and the long-term sustainability of our business.
Trees are the best investment one can make to generate multiple benefits for the long-term.
Coffee grows naturally in forest ecosystems and coffee-growing soil is complemented and enhanced by the presence of other trees. By helping to restore natural ecosystems, we will ultimately improve coffee quality and productivity and provide better returns for farmers. In fact, evidence suggests that production of high-quality coffee could increase by between 30% and 200% in some regions.
In addition, trees play an important role in preventing soil erosion, as their roots can hold the ground. Landslides have had a dramatic impact in Colombia recent years. In 2010, heavy rains wiped out more than 1 million hectares of crops, including coffee, across the country, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. And in 2015, mudslides swept away the coffee farming community of Salgar, in the Antioquia region. Planting trees more widely could help prevent these disasters such as these.
Trees also mitigate drought vulnerability – another climate-change threat to farmers.
“Agroforestry allows us to recreate a more natural coffee environment where trees are conserved and planted, water and wildlife are protected,” says Rainforest Alliance interim president Ana Paula Tavares said. “Farmers benefit through higher yields, more resilient farms, and an improved environment. Coffee lovers benefit through a delicious, high-quality coffee that provide value to coffee growers and the planet.”
In short, we believe in agroforestry practices at farm level for five main reasons:
- trees help prevent soil erosion and landslides
- trees contribute to securing coffee quality and productivity
- trees provide diversification of farmers’ income and a retirement capital to farmers, through the sale of wood
- trees regulate fresh water availability
- trees sequester carbon, reducing the impact of GHG emissions
It is still early days for the program, but since 2014 we have planted 460,000 trees in Guatemala, Colombia and Ethiopia, helping over 800 coffee farmers.
We’re not alone in thinking that agroforestry makes sense, with the likes of The Body Shop and Accor Hotels sharing our passion. But we are proud to be pioneering a new way of thinking about our climate impacts in a way that truly complements the unique characteristics of our supply chain.
Agroforestry is totally aligned and integrated with our business strategy, to help us better manage our dependencies on natural capital and maximize our positive impact on our farmer communities via the AAA Program.
There’s plenty that can be done to tackle GHG impacts, both in-house and along the supply chain tentacles. With global temperatures rising and erratic weather patterns becoming the norm in all corners of the globe, urgent action is needed – and it is up to the business community to step up to the plate with practical solutions.
