Nescafé, Nestlé's largest coffee brand has introduced the Nescafé Plan 2030, outlining extensive plans to make coffee farming more sustainable.
The brand is working with coffee farmers to help them transition to regenerative agriculture while accelerating its decade of work under the Nescafé Plan.
It will also invest over $1bn Swiss francs by 2030, building on the existing Nescafé Plan as the brand expands its sustainability work. It is supported by Nestlé's regenerative agriculture financing following the group's commitment to accelerate the transition to a regenerative food system and ambition to achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions.
Nestlé says rising temperatures will reduce the area suitable for growing coffee by up to 50 per cent by 2050. At the same time, around 125 million people depend on coffee for their livelihoods and an estimated 80 per cent of coffee-farming families live at or below the poverty line.
Nestlé head of coffee strategic business unit Philipp Navratil said as the world’s leading coffee brand, Nescafé aimed to have a real impact on coffee farming globally.
"We want coffee farmers to thrive as much as we want coffee to have a positive impact on the environment. Our actions can help drive change throughout the coffee industry," said Navratil.
Regenerative agriculture a likely solution
Regenerative agriculture is an approach to farming that aims to improve soil health and fertility, as well as protecting water resources and biodiversity. Healthier soils are more resilient to the impacts of climate change and can increase yields, helping improve farmers' livelihoods.
Nescafé will provide farmers with training, technical assistance and high-yielding coffee plantlets to help them transition to regenerative coffee farming practices.
Nescafé will also work with coffee farmers to test, learn and assess the effectiveness of multiple regenerative agriculture practices. This will be done with a focus on seven key origins, from where the brand sources 90 per cent of its coffee: Brazil, Vietnam, Mexico, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Indonesia and Honduras.
Overall, Nescafé aims to achieve 100 per cent responsibly sourced coffee and 20 per cent of coffee sourced from regenerative agricultural methods by 2025.
Piloting a financial support scheme in Mexico, Côte d'Ivoire and Indonesia to accelerate the transition to regenerative agriculture
Nescafé says it is committed to supporting farmers who take on the risks and costs associated with the move to regenerative agriculture. It will provide programs that aim to help farmers improve their income as a result of that transition.
In Mexico, Côte d'Ivoire and Indonesia, Nescafé will pilot a financial support scheme to help farmers accelerate the transition to regenerative agriculture. Through this scheme, Nescafé, together with coffee farmers, will test and learn the best approach in each country. These could include measures such as:
Nescafé will track the progress and assess the results of its field programs with coffee farmers through its Monitoring and Evaluation partnership with the Rainforest Alliance. Its efforts will be complemented by new and expertise-focused partnerships, like the one with Sustainable Food Lab for topics related to coffee farmers' income assessment, strategy and progress tracking.
Nescafé aims to contribute to Nestlé's Zero Net commitment to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reach zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It will work with farmers, suppliers and partners to help protect agricultural lands, enhance biodiversity and help prevent deforestation. The brand intends to help farmers plant more than 20 million trees at or near their coffee farms.
