September 1, 2021 (BANGKOK) – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Green Invest Asia project has partnered with the Global Coffee Platform (GCP) to run a six-part dialogue series that aims to increase industry collaboration to decarbonize coffee production. The ‘Sustainable Coffee Dialogue’ series will feature input from experts, practitioners and key industry players including Nestlé, JDE Peet’s, Tchibo, Lavazza, NKG, Simexco, LDC, ACOM and Sucden Coffee, among others. Each session will focus on proven, and profitable, ways for the coffee industry to fight climate change, including through low-carbon sourcing.
“Climate change and farmers’ prosperity are intertwined challenges of our time. Only through collective action will we be able to make an impact at scale,” said Annette Pensel, GCP Executive Director. “We are confident that this collaboration with USAID in Asia can spur systemic change through expanded pre-competitive collaboration within our industry. GCP Membership includes all actors in the supply chain, including companies that have made ambitious carbon-reduction targets, and others that are exploring opportunities in this area.”
“Companies clearly recognize the urgency to reduce carbon emissions within their supply chain, starting at the farm level – without harming livelihoods of surrounding communities,” said Christy Owen, Head of USAID Green Invest Asia. “But these top-level commitments must wind their way through fragmented supply chains. As environmental pressures increase, sustainable, low-carbon commodities become a must, rather than a niche product. We have successfully facilitated other industry collaborations and look forward to supporting the coffee sector,” said Owen.
Climate-smart coffee?
In the period of 2017-2020, over 9.5 million metric tons of coffee was globally produced annually, with a total trade value of near US$31 billion. Out of that, the total sustainable coffee purchased by JDE Peet’s, Melitta Group, Nestlé, Strauss Coffee, SUPRACAFÉ and Tesco in 2019 and 2020 were 789,315 metric tons and 983,347 metric tons respectively, according to GCP.
Global coffee demand is expected to triple production by 2050, raising pressure on forests and other habitats in the tropical regions it is grown as farmers look for new land to till. Changing how coffee is grown, transported and consumed can slash carbon emissions up to 77 percent, based on a UK study earlier this year, while a USAID-funded study found that climate-smart cultivation could lead to carbon-neutral, or even carbon-negative coffee, where more carbon is trapped than released in coffee production.
“Coffee is a positive engine for the economic and social development of the more than 50 producing countries and makes an important contribution to the environment as a productive forest. There is so much potential and opportunity for reducing carbon emissions in coffee production while ensuring farmers’ economic benefits – but more collaboration along with local ownership in coffee producing countries is needed.”
Annette Pensel, GCP Executive director
After the introductory meeting on October 06, 2021, more coffee dialogues are scheduled for November 24, and in 2022, on January 26, March 30, May 25, July 27 and September 28. Updates about each session’s topic and speakers will be posted closer to the events at greeninvestasia.com and globalcoffeeplatform.org. Please contact Ronnarit Chaiyosaeng at rchaiyosaeng@pactworld.org and Nhung Doan at nhungdoan@globalcoffeeplatform.org for more information.
About the organizers
USAID Green Invest Asia partners with agriculture, forestry, and other land use companies in Southeast Asia with proven business models, profit potential, and a demonstrated commitment to environmental and social stewardship. The project provides capital matchmaking, technical and business advisory services, access to financing with preferential terms and/or transaction support, including investment-readiness counsel to help scale business models that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. USAID Green Invest Asia also works with businesses seeking to “green” their supply chains to improve sourcing and facilitates industry initiatives to achieve sector-wide change.
Global Coffee Platform (GCP) is a unique multi-stakeholder membership association of coffee producers, traders, roasters and retailers, civil society, governments, and donors, united under a common vision to work collectively towards a thriving, sustainable coffee sector for generations to come. GCP Members believe that sustainability is a shared responsibility and collectively seek to address the most critical sustainability challenges to enhance farmers’ economic prosperity, improve well-being, and conserve nature.
GCP does this by convening and aligning relevant coffee stakeholders to advance sustainability, act on local issues, and scale successful sustainability initiatives across the sector. With its members and the GCP Network of Country Platforms in coffee producing countries, including in Vietnam and Indonesia, GCP works on increasing demand and supply of sustainably produced coffee in order to foster origin diversity and the viability of the coffee sector.
