A comprehensive path to coffee sustainability: from multi-capital accounting to multi-stakeholder collaboration
London, 5th December 2024
Conducting social capital impact valuation for a living income project in Honduras and launching a large-scale sustainable forest management partnership in Côte d’Ivoire are two highlights announced today by global food and beverage ingredients leader ofi, in its latest sustainability report for its coffee business.
The annual impact report for Coffee LENS (Livelihoods, Empowerment, Nature at Scale) sets out progress made by ofi’s global coffee teams in the 2023 crop year against targets to improve farmer livelihoods, empower coffee communities, and deliver climate action by 2030. Notable initiatives include conducting ofi’s first social capital impact valuation to assess the value of customized support delivered to approximately 1,000 coffee farmers in Honduras as part of a living income project with partner ALDI SOUTH Group. Analysis for the crop years 2021- 2022 and 2022- 2023 revealed that every dollar invested generated eight dollars in social value, earning the project recognition as a finalist at this year’s Reuters Sustainability Awards.
The Report also details advances in developing coffee living income strategies, generating detailed GHG digital footprints via its sustainability management system AtSource, and more than doubling the land acreage dedicated to regenerative agriculture compared to the previous year.
ofi attributes the achievements in 2023 to its long-term investment in being embedded in coffee farming communities and 45 impactful partnerships with customers, NGOs, and donors to help scale impact through its sustainability programs.
One of these partnerships is a three-year sustainable forest management program in Côte d’Ivoire, launched last year by ofi, IDH and JDE Peets, that is working to reduce pressure on the Taï National Park and Cavally nature reserve at a time when higher global coffee prices have spurred a revival of production in the region.
Acknowledging the notable rally in coffee prices last year and the climate-related supply constraints behind it, ofi’s coffee CEO Vivek Verma said: “The backdrop to our 2023 Impact Report was a year of unprecedented volatility for the coffee industry and it is coffee farmers who continue to bear a lot of the risk."
“Each year we learn how to make stronger choices that drive the most meaningful change on the ground and for our customers. In 2023, our origin teams supported over 115,000 farmers with training and inputs to help them adapt and become more resilient in the face of these perennial challenges, as well as equipping as many as possible with the resources required to meet the EU’s incoming requirements for traceable, deforestation-free coffee.”
The report also details intensive technical work undertaken last year to enhance data and traceability systems, which includes registering an additional 16,000+ coffee farmers to the company’s direct sourcing network via its digital farmer information system (OFIS) and developing an internal digital solution for farm-level traceability, ‘Track and Trace’.
Verma adds: “This groundwork is helping us plan and cost more targeted interventions on deforestation prevention, GHG reductions and living income, while also catering to increasing regulatory reporting and compliance requirements. It means that from action plans to detailed scenario planners, we can offer our customers and partners the traceability, capability, insights and choices to drive positive change and protect the romantic story of the coffee we all sell.”
Access the full Coffee LENS 2023 Impact Report and its contribution to ofi’s overarching sustainability strategy Choices for Change can be viewed here.
#bethechange
Discover much more about what ofi has to offer at ofi.com
