Nestlé has today pledged to increase its sustainability efforts, which also include reducing and removing carbon emissions where it sources coffee and throughout its operations; and using environmentally-friendly packaging.
One in seven cups of coffee in the word is Nescafé. Nestlé notes that many coffee farmers live in uncertainty, and launched the Nescafé Plan to improve farmers’ lives ten years ago.
One of the biggest challenges for sustainability in recent years has been historically low prices for Arabica coffee in Brazil and other coffee producing countries.
Philipp Navratil, Senior Vice President, Head of Beverages Strategic Business Unit, said: "Together with our partners and 230 Nescafé agronomists, we improved efficiency and agricultural practices on farms, enabling farmers to command a premium price for coffee grown sustainably. We diversified sources of farmer income to reduce their dependence on monocultures and to make them more resilient. We will not stop here. Our programs will evolve toward better social conditions in and around coffee farms. We will double down our efforts on labor rights, child protection, youth and women empowerment."
The plan has focused on improving farmers’ incomes, reducing the environmental impact of coffee farms and factories and increasing rural communities' well-being in countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines or Vietnam. Nestlé has invested CHF 350m ($395m) in the project to date.
Nestlé will publish a new and expanded Nescafé sustainability roadmap before the end of the year. In the meantime it has published its 10 year report on the Nescafe Plan.
