VEVEY, Switzerland – Nespresso publishes the final results of The Positive Cup, the company’s seven-year sustainability strategy and series of ambitious goals relating to coffee, climate and aluminium – the infinitely recyclable material that Nespresso capsules are created from. As part of its 2014-2020 Positive Cup sustainability strategy, Nespresso has invested CHF 585 millions in advancing the sustainability of its operations, from sustainable and certified coffee sourcing, to carbon reduction and capsule recycling.
Key outcomes include:
Sustainable coffee sourcing:
- More than 93% of Nespresso permanent coffee is now sourced sustainably through its AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program, up from 84% in 2014, including 48% certified coffee, up by 9 points since 2014.
- Building stronger, more resilient farming communities has always been at the heart of Nespresso’s activities. The company continued to drive innovative projects to help protect coffee farmer welfare like pioneering innovative retirement savings and crop insurance schemes. Today, over 2’000 coffee farmers in Colombia and 1’500 farmers in Indonesia have a pension saving scheme in place. Over 4’700 coffee farmers in Colombia are enrolled in crop insurance, representing over 15’000 hectares now insured.
Aluminium and recycling:
- Nespresso reached a global recycling rate of 32% at the end of 2020, up by 17% since 2014. 90% of Nespresso consumers worldwide have access to a convenient used capsule recycling solution.
- Nespresso recycling efforts cover 59 countries, with dedicated recycling systems in 54 countries. The brand also shares its infrastructure with other capsule manufacturers in 5 countries. In 38 countries, Nespresso offers a ‘Recycling at Home’ option which allow consumers to have their used capsules collected from their place of residence.
- Nespresso paved the way to create the first ever sustainable virgin aluminium standard, as a founding member of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI). ASI set the first ever global standards for sustainably, responsibly-produced aluminium. Nespresso didn’t achieve its target to source 100% ASI-certified aluminium at the end of 2020, as the brand shifted its priority to produce capsules with recycled content as a priority. Nonetheless, all Nespresso production centers are now ASI-certified and Nespresso has identified recycled aluminium suppliers for ASI certification, putting the building blocks in place for future full certification by 2022.
Climate:
- Nespresso has reduced the carbon footprint of a Nespresso cup of coffee by 24%, compared to its 2009 baseline, through investment in the expansion of renewable energy use, introducing eco-design into our products, sourcing low carbon materials and optimising logistics.
- These advancements come alongside a CH 15 million investment in natural climate solutions since 2014. Working with many partners including Pur Projet, Nespresso planted 5.2 million trees until end of 2020.
“For the past seven years, The Positive Cup has guided us on our sustainability journey, ensuring we maintain absolute focus and momentum on achieving our goals. We have learnt a lot and we’re proud of the achievements, yet we know we need to do more and accelerate our journey in this decisive decade to 2030, by increasing the scale of our coffee sourcing program, expanding the recycling of our capsules through industry-wide approaches, pushing innovation and driving systemic change, especially through agroforestry. The Positive Cup is the launchpad and successful model upon which we will continue building to drive further advancements to preserve the future of our planet,” concluded Jérôme Perez, Nespresso Global Head of Sustainability.
Nespresso is currently defining its complete sustainability roadmap for the future, focused on preserving exceptional coffees, building a resilient and regenerative coffee agriculture system and trying to improve sustainable livelihoods for farmers. For more information on Nespresso sustainability achievements and reporting, please find here The Positive Cup Report 2020.
