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Over the decades, sustainability initiatives within the coffee industry have increased, with the main focus being on people, planet and profit, to help create “guilt-free” coffee.
“Sustainable coffee is coffee that has been grown, processed and sold while supporting the environment in which it grows, and the people who are growing it. Focusing on this allows the coffee industry to create a more sustainable, fair and successful industry,” explains Thokozane Radebe, brand manager for *L’OR. She observes that you cannot have an industry without the people who make a living growing and providing the coffee, and the land on which it is grown, which is why it is important to put in place sustainable measures to protect both:
- The people involved in the farming and cultivation of your favourite “get-up-and-go” morning drink, play an important role in the industry. There was once a time when those farming the coffee where not able to afford the finished product. Around 120 million people rely on the coffee industry for their livelihoods with most of them being small-scale farmers. Due to this, the competition between the farmers is high and sometimes results in product being sold cheaper, and the people involved receiving very little compensation, resulting in low wages, poor living conditions and even child labour.
Another aspect that needs to be addressed is the lack of gender representation within the coffee farming community. The Rainforest Alliance puts this down to women not having the same access to tools as men do, but that if they did, they would be able to increase their produce yields by as much as 20-30%. Should this change occur women will be able to increase their earning potential, as well as create more job opportunities for women.
- Due to the increase demand of coffee, the preservation of the planet needs to be considered. With the need for more coffee, the simplest thing to do is to extend the farms which can lead to deforestation. By cutting down the trees, excess carbon is released into the air, and therefore contributes to climate change further affecting coffee growing initiatives in the long run.
In the mid-2000s sustainable coffees started including new certification initiatives such as UTZ certified and Rainforest Alliance Certified in their sustainability journey, with 34% of global coffee production in 2016 being compliant with voluntary sustainability standards. Through this sustainable coffee continues to grow within the industry.
“Knowing where your coffee comes from, and the conditions in which it is farmed, is an important step in sustainability. A coffee brand such as L’OR, which is Rainforest Alliance Certified, provides their consumers with a product that not only improves the living conditions of those who have farmed the beans, but preserves nature and protects the environment while doing it,” explains Radebe. She goes on to explain that working together as an industry to find the most sustainable ways in which to make coffee can help grow the industry ethically while looking after their people and the earth.