TREVISO, Italy – As the countdown to COP27 gathers pace – with fewer than 50 days left until the UN hosts its global Climate Change Conference – De’Longhi, the global leader in manufacturing espresso and coffee makers, announces two new strategic partnerships with World Coffee Research (WCR) and the Slow Food Coffee Coalition (SFCC).
Embracing the expertise of these organisations, De’Longhi aims to contribute to the broader coffee sector by protecting quality coffee supply, sustaining the coffee growing environment, improving farmers livelihoods, and improving their own company practices. These partnerships represent a crucial step in the brand’s sustainability journey and contributes to De’Longhi Group’s sustainability strategy.
De’Longhi partnership with World Coffee Research and Slow Food Coffee Coalition
The company will be better positioned to support the way coffee is produced and consumed within its own value-chain and globally – in turn, supporting consumers to make informed and responsible choices when making coffee.
“As a producer of machines that transform raw beans into fresh cups of coffee, it’s our responsibility to protect the people and processes that are foundational to our business, while bringing consumers closer to what is behind their coffee,” says Zeno Adami, Global Brand Director for De’Longhi. “We are pleased to collaborate with two reputable organisations as we aim to strengthen and transform the future of the coffee sector and bring more transparency to our customers.”
World Coffee Research (WCR)
De’Longhi’s partnership with WCR will specifically support research into growing, protecting and enhancing supplies of quality coffee and improving farmers’ livelihoods. Leaders and staff across the company will take part in educational sustainability trainings.
De’Longhi will also test WCR-identified coffee bean varieties in its bean-to-cup coffee machines to support WCR’s goal of protecting new coffee beans that are able to resist to climate change.
“We are happy and proud to have De’Longhi to join leaders in the global coffee industry to drive science-based agricultural solutions to urgently secure a diverse and sustainable supply of quality coffee today and for generations to come with WCR,” says Vern Long, CEO of the World Coffee Coalition.
Slow Food Coffee Coalition (SFCC)
Through its partnership with SFCC – a coffee-focused coalition founded by international nonprofit Slow Food – De’Longhi aims to improve its practices and support large-scale, bottom-up changes that protect the environment and workers’ rights. De’Longhi will embrace SFCC’s network to collaborate with stakeholders across the coffee sector to make clean, fair-trade coffee more readily available, and promote consumer education on the topic.
“Both SFCC and De’Longhi recognise there is an urgent need to protect the environment, the producers and the world’s most consumed drink,” says Emanuele Dughera, coordinator of the Slow Food Coffee Coalition. “We are thrilled to be working with De’Longhi – a key member of the coffee value chain that holds great influence in the sector. Their input and willingness to collaborate will enable us to enhance the supply, traceability and demand for good, clean, and fair quality coffee.”
Progress on the two partnerships announced today will be made available on De’Longhi’s Coffee Lounge website. The website launched in early 2022 as educational resource that provides consumers detailed information about their coffee and access to De’Longhi’s network of local roasters around the world.
