ARLINGTON, Va., U.S. – Conservation International CEO Dr. M. Sanjayan today called on the coffee industry to support farmers by investing in forest restoration and coffee resilience. He made these remarks during his keynote speech at the Swiss Coffee Trade Association Forum and Gala Dinner in Basel, Switzerland.
“The coffee industry can define its future and the future of the planet if it invests in resiliency of nature, resiliency of people and the resiliency of coffee itself,” said Sanjayan.
He also announced that Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), the world’s second largest coffee company, has made a $100,000 commitment to the Plant Trees. Save Coffee campaign. Additional contributors to date include Nespresso, Keurig Dr Pepper, Nedcoffee and Mercon.
The Plant Trees Save Coffee campaign, announced by the Sustainable Coffee Challenge in late September, aims to raise funds from coffee companies and consumers to support coffee farmers working in landscapes threatened by climate change and market instability in important single origin countries including Colombia, Honduras and Peru.
The campaign is the latest in a series of efforts by the Sustainable Coffee Challenge to address the need for healthy, productive trees. Coffee farmers benefitting from the campaign receive seedlings for replanting native forest trees and coffee trees.
Strong coffee trees increase coffee yields, contribute to additional income and help farmers adapt to a changing climate. Native forest trees planted on the farm provide protection for coffee trees, habitat for animals and income opportunities for coffee farming communities.
“By restoring forests and ensuring climate resilient production, the coffee industry can grow benefits now and into the future, for business, for farmers, for the planet,” added Sanjayan. “If coffee as an industry is going to ensure prosperity into 2050, it really should invest, now.”
The Plant Trees Save Coffee donation campaign will be open until early December 2019. To learn more about the campaign and help donate, click here.
Conservation International has been working in the coffee sector for over 20 years and in 2015, together with Starbucks, launched the Sustainable Coffee Challenge, which is uniting the coffee industry –growers, traders, roasters, retailers, governments and NGOs – in an effort to make coffee the world’s first sustainable agricultural commodity. With over 135 members including corporations, governments, NGOs and research organizations, the Challenge is focused on scaling up sustainable sourcing, farm renovation and rehabilitation, improving labor practices and supply and mapping and monitoring of coffee and forests.
About Conservation International
Conservation International uses science, policy and partnerships to protect the nature that people rely on for food, fresh water and livelihoods. Founded in 1987, Conservation International works in more than 30 countries on six continents to ensure a healthy, prosperous planet that supports us all.
About the Sustainable Coffee Challenge
The Sustainable Coffee Challenge convenes, unites and urges the coffee sector and conservation partners across the industry to spur the actions and investments necessary to make coffee the first sustainable agricultural product in the world. The Challenge is committed to stimulating demand for sustainable coffee across the value chain, from the policymaking level to the final consumer. By encouraging demand for sustainable coffee, it leads to investments that enable the transition to a sustainable production and ensuring the coffee we drink is a sustainable product.
