Farmers to Flat Whites: A Sustainable Journey

By MiNDFOOD

Farmers to Flat Whites: A Sustainable Journey
How do we ensure that we have access to our favourite morning espresso, cappuccino or macchiato for the foreseeable future? With news of a decreasing coffee supply hitting our screens, and an increase in consumer eco-consciousness across the world, Australians are becoming increasingly invested in the origins of the products they consume, with 37% saying they only drink sustainably sourced coffee.*

Since coffee dates became a thing, Nespresso has been at the forefront of ethical and sustainable coffee production, supporting coffee communities by establishing its unique AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program.  In collaboration with Rainforest Alliance, the program safeguards Nespresso’s access to the best quality coffee, while protecting the environment and improving the livelihoods of farmers and their families – ticking many a millennial’s boxes. And, how is this done? Nespresso creates long-term close relationships with farmers, agronomists and their communities to understand their individual needs and to provide support to ensure the sustainability of their coffee yield. As a result of the program’s development, Nespresso now collaborates with over 75,000 coffee farmers and 400 agronomists worldwide.

These close relationships not only allow Nespresso to test out new coffee processing techniques and deliver new coffee experiences to Australians but also help to determine ways to better support coffee farming. As part of the AAA program, farmers are paid premium prices for their coffee beans, protecting them from market volatility. Additionally, Nespresso has pioneered a new program providing retirement savings plans for farmers and is helping to facilitate the generational transfer of farms, from parents to children, ensuring opportunity for young people in coffee producing regions.  

An important part of sustainable coffee production lies in strengthening coffee farm’s resilience to climate change. In a positive step towards achieving this resilience, Nespresso has established an extensive agroforestry program. One pillar of the program will see 5 million trees planted, improving soil nutrients, water conservation and providing shade for coffee cherries to flourish.

So what does this mean for us, who are quite removed from the coffee producing regions but have many an interest in a good brew? Firstly it’s important to ensure you’re buying coffee that supports sustainable sourcing, uses recyclable packaging and has low carbon efficiency across its whole lifecycle. And secondly, it’s vital to take action into your own hands and ensure you are recycling your used Nespresso aluminium coffee capsules at one of the 20,000 collection points nationwide, ensuring that used coffee grounds go on to create compost and fertilisers, and the aluminium can be recycled to create new products.  

*Research conducted in June 2017 by Galaxy Research Online Omnibus with 1,000 Australians and commissioned by Nespresso.

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