What is Coffee Sustainability?

Let’s face it. Sustainability is a buzzword.

Everyone talks about sustainability, and they often do it in hushed voices. They’re discussing something important. Vital to the planet and to people.

But how well do they understand sustainability? Often, not well at all.

And when we talk about coffee, do people understand coffee sustainability? Even less.

What is coffee sustainability? In this article I’ll explain what it is and what it should mean to all of us.

After all, people are right. Sustainability is important.

But we don’t have to talk in hushed tones to convey that importance. All we have to do is understand it well and act on that knowledge.

In this article we will cover:

• What is coffee sustainability?
• What are the 3 fundamental areas of coffee sustainability?
• How does climate change affect coffee?

But first, let’s see who should be concerned about coffee sustainability.

Who needs to know about sustainability?

Everyone in the coffee chain needs to know about sustainability. This isn’t just for the Chief Sustainability Officer or for those who are part of sustainability teams.

It’s for all of us, from the casual coffee drinker all the way to CEOs of major coffee companies.

Why? Because we all care about the planet and the people who live on it. Our values include caring for each other, not exploiting each other.

The sad truth is that the present state of the coffee industry at times promotes exploiting people who work in the coffee industry. That especially applies to growers and others who work cultivating and processing coffee.

What is coffee sustainability?

A simple definition of coffee sustainability is coffee that is grown in a way that cares for the people who grow it, as well as the environment.

Essentially, coffee sustainability is about making coffee better for everyone. Including the planet.

It’s also about ensuring we have coffee to drink in the future.

We all agree on the importance of those two points. But from there the subject gets quite complex, and solutions are even more complex to come up with.

Often, it seems like each solution simply opens the door to more complications for coffee communities. And more confusion for consumers.

And that leads to stagnating problems rather than solving problems.

To understand why, we will take a look at the three main aspects that define what is coffee sustainability.

What are the 3 fundamental aspects of coffee sustainability?

1. Economic sustainability

Economic sustainability is one the biggest challenges when we discuss coffee sustainability. I talk first about economic sustainability because it impacts so greatly on the second and third aspects.

Economic sustainability was not as much of an issue several decades ago. Coffee producing communities used to be able to cover farm costs as well as their cost of living, including health care and education.

That’s not the case today.

Coffee prices have been at all-time lows for decades. That means that farmers are earning less today than they did twenty years ago. Could you imagine not having a raise since 2001?

We’re not talking about farmers getting rich from coffee. Coffee farmers around the world struggle just to cover the costs of their farm, get enough food on the table, and provide basic health care for their family.

This poverty makes farmers and their families vulnerable in times of crisis, whether that crisis comes from natural disasters, social unrest, or a dip in coffee prices.

One of the main problems is a drive towards the lowest possible prices for coffee. Consumers want a can or bag of coffee that costs almost nothing. And coffee companies, from the most basic to the most fancy, want to keep their costs for their raw material at a minimum.

What can help improve economic sustainability for coffee farmers?

This is a complex topic that we’re not going to cover in this article. But it begins with market demand.

Consumer awareness – consumers who understandthe issues, who value coffee as the outstanding product it can be, are often willing to pay fair prices.

Ethical sourcing – when companies pay fair prices to producers, those farmers can cover the costs of operating their farm, transporting their goods and marketing their coffee.

But the solution is not as easy as saying, let’s charge more for coffee. Higher prices aren’t the only solution. But it’s one of the first steps.

Economic stability contributes to social stability in coffee communities. Now let’s look at what social sustainability in coffee means to the people who grow it.

2. Social sustainability

About 120 million people around the world depend on coffee.

Most of them are low-income small-scale farmers. Those tiny farms do not produce much coffee, and those producers rarely have the option of buying larger farms.  

When the rush is towards putting the cheapest possible product on the market, the first to suffer are the people who grow coffee. They often do not make enough from the coffee harvest to pay for the costs of running their farm.

Their living standards decline, and getting basic food, education, and health care for the family seem like impossible dreams.

When they get paid so little, farmers struggle to keep their costs to a minimum. They may pay less for labor on their farms, take less care with waste products, and use cheaper (and more damaging) pesticides and fertilizers.

Now add gender equality issues to the picture. Women coffee growers often cannot gain legal rights to their property. They have less access to economic resources, marketing options, and education.

Now add in ethnic issues. Many indigenous communities are in remote areas where there is little access to transportation, education or internet.

It’s not surprising that the younger generation dreams of leaving coffee growing communities in search of better paying work. A major goal in some coffee producing communities is to maintain rural employment that encourages people to remain on the farm and not migrate to overcrowded cities.

In short, social sustainability in coffee is about improving living conditions for growers.

What can be done to improve social sustainability?

There are no easy solutions, but here are a few brief points:

• Consumers can purchase coffee that includes and supports marginalized coffee growers.
• Governments and coffee coops can promote farmer education to improve cultivation and processing.
• Farmers can improve farm management, diversify income with other crops, and find alternate ways to market their coffee.

3. Environmental sustainability

Environmental sustainability is about more than just facing climate change. It’s about caring for the environment in general.

Coffee can be hard on the planet. From soil erosion to water pollution, coffee that’s not well managed can negatively affect the planet.

Water conservation: In areas where wet processing is the traditional way to process coffee, the resulting waste products pollute the water and soil.

Forest conservation: Forests are often cut down to accommodate crops. When farmers destroy native forests and plant just one crop, the lack of biodiversity affects the soil and the animals that live off the land. Monocultures increase plant diseases and problems with pests.

Pesticides and chemical fertilizers: The indiscriminate use of these products contributes to ecological problems.

Many of the problems of environmental sustainability have to do with education and resources. Governments, co-ops, and coffee companies can do their part to educate and incentivize farmers to change their practices to protect the environment. Some of these changes can include:

• Increase the number of shade trees
• Improved water use and management
• Pest and disease management, including farm hygiene and prevention
• Increase soil quality and avoid soil erosion

How does climate change affect coffee?

Added to the main challenges I’ve already listed, we have to add another one that people talk about a lot. Climate change.

Climate change is different from climate variability. The weather has always had its ups and downs, and those changes have affected the coffee industry and prices worldwide. However, climate change is a whole different story.

Climate change affects temperatures and rainfall. We’re already seeing that rising temperatures affect where coffee can be grown, what kind of coffee can be grown, or even if coffee can be grown at all.

Flooding is more common and can wipe out crops or even farms. On the other hand, times of drought destroy crops.

In fact, rising temperatures and wetter climates could effectively wipe out coffee cultivation in some countries in the near future.

Why is sustainability a challenge?

Sustainability is a huge challenge because there are no easy solutions.

Defining the problems and issues is the easy part of coffee sustainability. It becomes a challenge when we try to pinpoint solutions – and find they slip out of our hands.

After all, coffee is a crop grown around the globe. Millions of people all over the world depend on it.

But those people in different countries live within diverse cultures, economic conditions, and social and political issues. There isn’t one solution for everyone.

That’s why it takes teamwork on many levels – from consumers to governments to the private sector – to find the best solutions for each region, country, and area.

Lives depend on it, and our planet does too.

How can companies and governments contribute to coffee sustainability?

Companies that focus on short-term profit do not help the coffee industry.

Companies with a long-term vision of improving the communities they work with have initiatives to help farmers renew coffee crops, increase farm productivity, get access to credit, improve skills.

These include recycling, use of GMO, water consumption, water pollution, reforestation, shade tree programs, zero deforestation policies, soil protection programs, biodiversity programs, carbon footprint reduction, education, minimum wage and price guarantees, price transparency and child labor policy, gender equality program.

Where should you start with sustainability in your coffee company?

If you own a coffee company or are planning on starting one, you want to know how you can contribute to economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Sustainability starts with understanding how coffee is grown and processed. Our course, From Coffee Plant to Your Coffee Cup, takes you through the steps of coffee production.

Take a look at the curriculum and get in touch with any questions you have if it’s the right course for you and your business.