STORIES OF
SUSTAINABILITY

We fund the Seeds for Progress Foundation, which supports rural schools, builds new schools and trains teachers. This allows us to offer easier access and high-quality education to the young people who take part in the project, to improve social and economic sustainability.

Since 2013, we have been restoring native vegetation, cleaning groundwater and improving the living environments of coffee growers. This is our way of taking care of the part of the world where we operate, forging paths towards environmental and social sustainability.

By the end of 2019, 70 hectares of land had been reforested and 76 wastewater treatment systems installed; 23 structures for managing coffee pulp had been constructed, with training provided to 99 farming families; and 60 Támara school students had been educated on good environmental practices.

In 2019, we financed the acquisition of a coffee plantation and the planting of around 2,500 certified-quality coffee plants, to function as a Farmer Field School for a cooperative of 40 female coffee producers in Hindiro.

We preserve biodiversity and water resources and promote environmental education in Brazil. The “Viveiro de Atitude” programme involved the construction of a nursery housing over 100 plant species native to the Cerrado region.

The plants are given to producers, creating green resources for the city of Monte Carmelo. The sales revenue is donated to local organisations, to support children and the elderly.

Investing in research is essential for those who dream of guaranteeing a sustainable future, including for coffee growing. For this reason, we have collaborated on a revolutionary research project to sequence the genome of Arabica coffee, making the results available for everyone.

It is estimated that 50% of land suitable for growing Arabica coffee could be lost by 2050. However, thanks to this revolutionary project, coffee growers can adapt their plants to the changing climatic conditions, like rising temperatures, prolonged drought and heavy flooding.

In 2019, thanks to our support, 13 coffee producers in Nicaragua and Honduras were able to implement a new wastewater treatment system in order to reduce water consumption by 35%, preserving resources and reducing our impact on the planet.

Part of our coffee comes from 62 rural schools in the Cauca region of Colombia. We have funded these schools through the “Escuela y Café” project, with the aim of reducing school dropouts, tackling child labour and improving education.

The project provides students with 1,500 coffee seeds per year, so that they can plant them in their family’s farm and enjoy a productive plantation at the end of their 6 years at school. This means having the economic resources to attend university or start their own business.

Our aim is to support communities to promote the creation of excellent practices and sustainable production across the globe. For this reason, we are committed to building long-lasting relationships with growers, based on knowledge-sharing and sustainable growth.

We believe sustainability should be pursued at every stage of the production process. Thanks to our new certification protocol for coffee procurement, we are able to monitor supply chains, guarantee the quality of the product, and protect the environment and worker safety.