JulieCraves

Coffee news and miscellany / Corporate coffee

Sips: Latest corporate coffee news

Some tidbits from the big four:

  • J.M. Smucker Completes Acquisition of Rowland Coffee. Smucker will now own Cafè Bustelo and Cafè Pilon as well as Folgers. Yippee.

    Love the old school can.

  • Sara Lee in talks for Brazil coffee brand. Sara Lee aiming to acquire or merge with Marata. Sara Lee already controls 22% of Brazil’s retail coffee market, and purchased Brazil’s Cafè Damasco last year.
  • How Kraft sells sustainability. Marc Gunther is a fellow member of the Society of Environmental Journalists, and has written a piece on how Kraft is trying to find ways that sustainability can drive growth. The company has determined that over 60% of its environmental impact comes from its supply chain, from the growing of agricultural products, including coffee. Gunther gleans the thoughts of Kraft’s VP of global sustainability (wait for it…) Steve Yucknut. This comes as Kraft announces that they are increasing their sustainability goals for the next few years. These goals include sourcing 100% of European coffee brands sustainably. The latter article again mentioned the 50,000 tons of Rainforest Alliance coffee Kraft purchased in 2010, which I will again remind you represents less than 7% of their total coffee purchases. They have a long way to go.
  • In an effort not to leave out the last, and largest, of the big four corporate coffee roasters, I took a look at Nestlè USA’s 2010 corporate responsibility report. Coffee was not mentioned. I did dig up a a piece on the reduction of the carbon footprint of Nescafè single-serve machines. You can just talk amongst yourselves on this one.

Coffee news and miscellany / Corporate coffee

After the Harvest

When discussing the problems associated with commodity coffee, and why you need to pay a little more to make sure people and the environment are protected, I’ve actually had people tell me they have a “right” to cheap coffee. I often hear that certified coffees are too hard to find, and people tell me they’d buy sustainable coffee if only it were at the grocery store.

At least you have access to a grocery store.

There is no such thing as “cheap” coffee.

Please visit the After the Harvest web site to learn more about the large percentage of coffee farmers than do not have enough to eat for a portion of the year, and the organizations that are working on food security in the coffee lands.

Certifications / Rainforest Alliance

Rainforest Alliance to require upping the ante

A frequently heard complaint about Rainforest Alliance is that they allow their seal on coffee that contains as little as 30% RA-certified beans. I understand RA’s rationale: that for a very large roaster to source 30% of many tons of coffee has an arguably larger impact than a small company sourcing 100% of a half ton, and allowing less-than-total content gets big corporations to the table. But while the percentage of certified content has to be specified on the label, many consumers, roasters, and coffee professionals I’ve talked to think that the ”30% rule” tarnishes a great certification, confuses or misleads consumers, and indicates too much concession to corporate interests.

The mantra from RA has always been that these “30 percenters” must continue to increase the amount they source. For instance, the RA blog says, “We are committed to ensuring that companies scale up their commitments… If a mainstream brand begins … by sourcing, say, 40 percent of its coffee from certified farms, that brand must agree to source increasing quantities from certified farms as they become available.”

Alas, that does not seem to have happened in practice, with the most glaring example being Kraft’s Yuban coffee, still at 30% since it began using RA beans in 2006. (A very notable exception is Caribou Coffee, which has increased the number of offerings that include RA certified beans and the percentage in those offerings. In 2006, their stated goal was having every one of their coffees 100% RA certified by the end of 2011; they are currently on track to meet the goal.)

The problem has been, apparently, that the actual rules do not seem to be specific enough. RA’s “Use of Seal” Guidelines dated December 2007 states that “Companies requesting to use the RAC seal on single-ingredient products with less than 90% certified content should also agree to a SmartSourceTM plan: a step-wise approach to scaling up the percentage of certified content over time with specific benchmarks and timelines along the path of sustainability.”

This is due to change with the next update of the Use of Seal Guidelines. Any company that offers a coffee that does not contain 100% certified beans will be required to scale up the amount at least 15% a year until the content reaches 100% certified beans. I thought this might mean 15% of the current certified content per year (e.g., from 30% to 34.5% to 39.7%, etc.), at which rate Yuban would not be 100% until I was past retirement age in 2020 or so. However, I confirmed with Alex Morgan, RA’s U.S. Manager of Sustainable Agriculture, that this meant 15% of 100 (30% to 45%, etc.).  This is a significant, meaningful, and important milestone, in my opinion.

This rule will apply not just to coffee, but other products using the seal, such as cocoa. Thus it is taking awhile to implement to accommodate varying production methods associated with different products, but the update should take place sooner rather than later. It’s my understanding not every partner is thrilled with this change, and it will be interesting to see if anybody drops the certification. My guess is that it would be pretty awkward for a player like Kraft to quit Rainforest Alliance after touting their involvement for years. We will see which big companies are actually committed to sustainable sourcing, and which may have been using RA certification to greenwash via token sourcing.

Coffee awards and competitions

SCAA Sustainability Award 2011

Each year since 2004, the Sustainability Committee of the SCAA has given out a sustainability award, presented at their annual event. The award is open to individuals, businesses, and organizations that have created innovative projects to expand and promote sustainability within the coffee world while inspiring others to initiate similar endeavors that are replicable, scalable and raise the bar of sustainability.

This year’s winner was Grounds for Health. This organization has a simple and focused mission: to work with coffee-growing communities to establish sustainable cervical cancer prevention programs. Cervical cancer is the number one cause of cancer death for women in developing countries, yet it is one easiest cancers to detect, treat, and cure when caught early.

Other finalists were:

  • Cenicafé for “Participatory bird census in coffee-producing areas in Colombia.” Cenicafé is the coffee research arm of the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC). Part of its mission is to develop scientific programs favoring environmental conservation and biodiversity in the country’s coffee regions. Since 2004, Cenicafé has been engaging coffee farmers, their families, and researchers to conduct bird inventories in and around coffee farms. Twenty-nine communities and hundreds of farmers have now participated. The project  includes educational programs including games and workshops, and publications (more than 100,000 copies of educational bulletins and thousands of posters have been distributed so far). The project has resulted in conservation and reforestation initiatives, educational programs, and has recorded nearly 450 bird species…and counting. Partners include the U.S. Forest Service International Program’s Wings Across The Americas, The Nature Conservancy’s Migratory Bird Program, and Optics for the Tropics.
  • Café Femenino. A social program for women coffee growers in rural communities around the world, founded by Gay and Garth Smith, owners of Organic Products Trading Co. (OPTCO). The Café Femenino project helps women in Bolivia, Colombia, Nicaragua, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru gain empowerment, build social and support networks, and earn income through the production and sale of the Café Femenino Coffee, of which OPTCO is the exclusive importer.
  • Efico, Rainforest Alliance, and Anacafe for “Climate-friendly coffee farming.”  This project, which rain for 18 months through January 2011, aimed to develop the climate-friendly module that can be added to Rainforest Alliance certification which I wrote about here and here. Using pilot locations in Guatemala, the project conducted workshops for farmers and auditors, helped raise awareness of climate issues and adaptable farming practices, and tested the robustness of criteria (carbon storage metrics, greenhouse gas reduction best management practices), the practicality and usefulness of the module.