Coffee’s path to sustainability

Imagine a world without coffee. Impossible, right? April is Earth Month, and since no one wants to imagine a planet without coffee, it’s an important time to consider coffee’s environmental footprint and its journey toward becoming the world’s first truly sustainable agricultural product.

As with everything in coffee, this journey starts with coffee farmers. By some estimates, global demand for coffee will triple by 2050, and the only way to meet such demand will be to grow more coffee than ever before -- and do so sustainably. No one farmer, business, or organization can tackle this alone, which is why the NCA is proud to partner with Conservational International on their ambitious, global Sustainable Coffee Challenge (SCC).

As a member of the SCC’s Advisory Council, NCA serves as the voice of the U.S. coffee industry that connects with hundreds of millions of U.S. coffee drinkers every day. We help distill lessons learned from leading coffee brands’ sustainability initiatives, bring our own technical and policy expertise to the table, and use our platform to amplify successes and spur new commitments.

Sustainability goals and approaches to achieving them vary across coffee-producing countries, but one thread ties them all together: the existential threat of climate change. Growing coffee requires consistent and favorable weather conditions, and coffee-growing regions are increasingly facing climate challenges from drought to flooding to extreme storms. Applying best practices in production can help one weather the storm, so to speak, as can diversifying a farms’ crops to include coffee varieties more resilient to weather extremes and diseases like coffee rust.

Protecting our natural resources is a goal that extends all the way from crop to cup in the coffee community. New innovations emerge every day - from upcycling coffee grinds, pulp and husks to innovating packaging while reducing waste. To cite just a few examples:

• Coffee grounds can help support everyone’s new pandemic house plant hobbies - grounds that would otherwise be wasted provide nutrients and help keep house plants (and homes!) happy and healthy.
• In fact, coffee can boost the health of some of the world’s most important plants - coffee pulp is being used to help regrow destroyed rainforests and restore damaged ecological systems. Much like how coffee boosts human energy, coffee pulp revs up forests, helping trees regrow faster. NCA members and coffee charities have also planted millions of coffee trees to keep coffee growing while pulling carbon from the atmosphere and combatting climate change.
• Coffee husks (or parchment) can be turned into affordable, renewable building materials, offering coffee farmers new revenue opportunities and contributing to sustainable new construction methods.
• NCA members are working hard to reduce packaging waste, for example by making all packaging recyclable, compostable, or reusable by 2025 and by providing more sustainable choices for consumers.

At NCA, we’re committed to helping create the next generation of sustainable coffee solutions. In a panel organized by our Next Generation Council at the NCA convention, leading experts in supply chain logistics broke down how coffee can benefit from incorporating sustainability at all levels. Our Next Generation Council works closely with promising young professionals in our industry to provide mentorship and incorporate the next generation’s insight as we plan for coffee’s future.  

We’re also helping members learn from the best experts in the field and from each other, including through webinars like our upcoming session titled “How Compostable Single-Serve Pods & Consumer-Driven Sustainability Trends are Influencing Roasters in the Post-Covid-19 Era.”

 This Earth Month, I invite you to learn more about our approach to achieving a sustainable coffee future, check out NCA members’ contributions and commitments in our Sustainability Showcase, and explore the inspiring work of partners like our 2021 Charity of The Year Root Capital. 

NCA: We Serve Coffee.

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