MILAN, Italy – The concern about the global agriculture and forestry sector contributing 13% to 21% of total human-caused greenhouse gases (GHG), according to United Nations, is defining the way consumers are selecting their products. Indeed, ESG concerns influence the decision of half of all consumers, according to a Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey across 25 countries, conducted by PWC.
For Brazil, the coffee sector is already racing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on coffee farms and that has become a top priority for “Brazil. The Coffee Nation”, co-led by Brazil Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil). It is currently estimated that Brazil’s coffee plantations absorbed around 10.5 ton/CO2eq per hectare per year, and Coffee producers are not stopping there and are working on new ways to deepen their contribution to a more sustainable planet.
The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions on coffee farms
Most of the GHG emissions on coffee farms, globally speaking, comes from the use of nitrogen fertilizers. These fertilizers release nitrous oxide, which is harmful to the climate, but to reduce such emissions, there are some procedures and techniques that can be adopted, such as the rational use of water, fuel and electricity, installation of solar panels to produce clean energy, regenerative practices and biological management, which is already very common and used in Brazilian coffee farms.
For Paulo Ferreira, specialist in sustainable development, the carbon neutral coffee market is growing and it is vital that farmers can keep up with new demands and standards, bringing benefits to the world and to the producer himself. “The farmer will have a product with certification that it was produced in a responsible manner within the correct environmental practices, which promotes greater acceptance in the market, mainly in Europe and America, which are in high demand for coffee with this sustainability bias,” said Ferreira.
He also highlights that regenerative agriculture is an ideal model of sustainable practice, which coffee growers are already doing in Brazil. “Cover plants in between the coffee rows, increase in the green area, use of organic fertilizers, use of biological management, connection of landscapes and afforestation of areas. It is a practice that produces and promotes an increase in life in the ecosystem, be it in the soil, water, flora and fauna, reducing the use of pesticides and increasing the absorption and retention of carbon in the soil.”
The benefits of carbon negative
Paula Urtado, a specialty coffee producer at the Três Meninas farm, in the Cerrado Mineiro region, is one of those coffee growers who decided to invest in regenerative management and today the farm is considered carbon negative, it captures more than it emits.
“We’ve noticed that the benefits of on-farm practices have grown over the years. We are very proud to be carbon negative, the farm also became organic, this is really the result of production coming into harmony with nature, stronger in self-defense, achieving more resilience. The quality of coffee depends on the way it is produced and on the commitment of producers and other actors in the chain with a better legacy for society. We believe that with the new wave of coffee, comes the conscious consumers,” said Urtado.
At the farm they also use techniques such as cover plants, to improve soil nutrition, increase biodiversity by attracting the natural enemies of coffee tree pests, which also allows the reduction of carbon emissions, there is also the technique of native bees, they boost pollination rates, contributing to the better development of all plants and thus increasing carbon absorption, among others.
For James Combs, buyer and owner of Combs’ Coffee, in the US, which buys more Brazilian coffee than another other country in the world, sustainability farming is key when it comes to deciding which product to buy. “My business is green certified, so sustainability is very important to me! Which is why I travel to the farms directly, so I can meet the producers and see how sustainable the place is. I believe that the farmers in Brazil are taking it seriously and trying hard to be sustainable at scale,” said Combs.
Brazilian coffee is associated with environmental preservation and the increase in the Human Development Index (HDI), it is present in 1,983 municipalities in Brazil, in 34 producing regions. The country is considered global leader when it comes to coffee, and is the largest coffee exporter in the world. In 2022, 122 countries bought Brazilian coffee, and 39.5 million 60kg bags were exported, valued at USD 9.2 billion, which is a record.
“The Brazilian growers are improving their technologies to reach the most sustainable production. Those efforts aims to guarantee the economic sustainability at the whole coffee value chain, from coffee grain to the consumer’s cup experience,” said Vinicius Estrela, BSCA’s Executive Director.
Brazil – The coffee nation
It is a sector project, developed by BSCA and Apex-Brasil, focused on the commercial promotion of the Brazilian product on the international market. The objective is to strengthen the image of Brazilian coffee beans worldwide and to position the country as a high-quality supplier, using state-of-the-art technology resulting from research.
The current project has as target markets: i) Canada, United States, China, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Spain, Poland, United Kingdom, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia for specialty coffee beans; and ii) Canada, China, United Arab Emirates, Chile, Portugal and the United States for products from the roasting and grinding industry.
The project also aims at exposing the exclusive certification and traceability processes adopted in the national production of specialty coffees, highlighting their social and environmental responsibility and incorporating a competitive advantage to Brazilian products.
