NORTHLAKE, Texas, USA – Farmer Brothers Company announced the release of its annual sustainability report today. The 2022 report, which focuses on the company’s environmental and community efforts, underlines its industry-leading commitment to sustainable practices and responsible sourcing as it continues to provide high-quality, flavor-rich coffee, tea and culinary products.
Report highlights include:
- More than 30 million pounds of fully traceable green coffee produced in 2022.
- Early achievement of its 2025 greenhouse gas (GHGs) emission reduction goal of 30% Scope 1 and 2, and 18% in Scope 3 emissions, respectively. The company achieved 39% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a 26% decrease in Scope 3 emissions in 2022.
- A 47% reduction in the pounds of waste sent to the landfill since 2018, which includes a 90% diversion of waste at its roasting facilities, a 79% decrease in corporate waste and the upcycling of more than 600,000 pounds of burlap in the last two years.
- The refurbishment of more than 8,000 pieces of beverage equipment in 2022, which saved more than half a million pounds of waste from the landfill.
“I am continually inspired by the unwavering commitment and resulting progress our team is making toward our goal of providing 100% responsibly sourced coffee by 2025,” said Farmer Brothers President and Chief Executive Officer Deverl Maserang. “Over the last several years, we have built a fertile foundation upon which even greater sustainability achievements will be able to grow.”
Farmer Brothers: Responsible sourcing
As part of its commitment to making a difference for individual coffee producers, Farmer Brothers has been working with producers since 2010 where they live and work through direct trade relationships. In 2022, almost 3,500 coffee growers across two continents participated in the company’s Direct Trade and Project D.I.R.E.C.T. programs, producing more than 5.4 million pounds of green coffee.
“Project D.I.R.E.C.T. represents a great complement to our mission by facilitating a long-term commitment focused on quality and innovation to improve the lives of our member families,” said Aldea Global Coffee General Manager Warren Armstrong.
Colombia farms participating in Farmer Brothers’ Project D.I.R.E.C.T. program, recorded nearly 50% fewer emissions than the average Colombia coffee farm and realized a 15% boost in productivity per hectare. In 2022, the company paid almost $550,000 in premiums to Project D.I.R.E.C.T. and Direct Trade coffee growers.
Industry leadership
As the first coffee company to align its carbon-reduction targets to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), Farmer Brothers is proud to have been included on the Carbon Disclosure Projects (CDP) 2022 A-List. It is one of only 300 companies, out of nearly 15,000 firms worldwide, to have received this honor. The company was also honored for the fourth consecutive year by Texan by Nature as one of 20 recipients of their TxN20 award, which is given based on environmental protection and sustainability efforts.
In addition, Farmer Brothers was welcomed to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Power Partnership and became a member of the We Mean Business Coalition, a global nonprofit coalition working with the world’s most influential businesses to take action on climate change.
“These accolades confirm the hard work and culture of commitment embodied by our entire Farmer Brothers team,” said Maserang. “In 2022, we continued to meet our targets for GHGs, which are aligned with the SBTi. Overall, we reduced our emissions by 27% through a number of strategic initiatives, including the opening of our Rialto, California distribution center, which significantly reduced the number of miles traveled and provided a base from which to better serve our largest client base.”
You can read Farmer Brothers’ full sustainability and Direct Trade impact reports, and learn more from its issue briefs and GRI data on farmerbros.com.
