Meeting Members:
We welcome Westrock Coffee to the GCP Membership community!
In this month’s “Meeting Members” we catch up with Brooke Cantrell and Matt Smith to learn more about the company’s sustainability mission and its pledge to responsibly source 100% of its coffees and teas by 2025.
Based in Little Rock, Arkansas U.S.A., Westrock Coffee’s mission is crystal clear: To create meaningful change in the lives of coffee-farming families and connect the world through great coffee. Today the company fields offices in 10 countries and sources coffee and tea from 35 origin countries, providing innovative beverage services under the Westrock Coffee and S&D Coffee & Tea brands. Westrock Coffee’s recent announcement that its coffees and teas will be 100% responsibly sourced by 2025, and its decision to join the Global Coffee Platform, speak to the company’s dedication to support sector-wide coffee sustainability advancement.
For Brooke Cantrell, Director of Sustainability, Westrock Coffee’s on-the-ground experience working with farmers and partnering with customers has shown that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to sustainability. The opportunity to work collectively with like-minded peers in the GCP is central to Westrock Coffee’s sustainability approach.
“Together with GCP and its members, we can create opportunities for both ends of the supply chain, meeting farmers and customers where they are currently on their sustainability journeys.”
She said GCP’s work-to-date aligns with two primary pillars of Westrock Coffee’s business. “We firmly believe in normalizing transparency as part of business strategy and creating clear pathways to sustainability for farmers and the entire pre-export supply chain.”
For Matt Smith, Westrock Coffee’s Executive Vice President of Global Supply Chain, Quality, and Sustainability, joining GCP gives Westrock Coffee the opportunity to work with others under a shared vision for a thriving and sustainable coffee sector.
Matt said collaboration means a move towards industry-wide sustainability goals that will deliver lasting change that the coffee industry needs, and the scale at which the GCP membership is planning impact “makes this opportunity all the more exciting”.
We couldn’t agree more.
“Joining GCP allows Westrock to convene with like-minded organizations interested in positioning sustainability as a less fragmented and competitive part of the supply chain.”
– Matt Smith, Westrock Coffee’s Executive Vice President of Global Supply Chain, Quality, and Sustainability
Images: (Left) Brooke Cantrell, Westrock Director of Sustainability with Amanda Eastwood, Director of Supply Chain Partnerships with supply chain partners.(Right) Matt Smith, Westrock Coffee’s Executive Vice President of Global Supply Chain, Quality, and Sustainability.
The Global Coffee Platform is delighted to welcome the Westrock Coffee into the GCP global Membership community! This contribution forms part of a new series called Meeting Members.