Nestle doubles pledge on sustainable coffee sourcing

LONDON Reuters -- Food giant Nestle pledged to spend more than 1 billion Swiss francs $1.01 billion on efforts to source coffee sustainable by 2030, more than double its previous pledge, as challenges related to climate change pose particular risks for the bean.

A study shows that by 2050, about half of the land currently used to grow coffee, especially the high quality arabica variety, could be unproductive due to rising temperatures, drought and disease.

Multinationals are facing increased reputational and legal pressure from consumers and governments alike to clean up their supply chains in the fight against climate change.

The European Commission has proposed several laws aimed at preventing forced labour from being used in the case of forced labour and banning the import and use of products linked to environmental and human rights abuses.

By 2025, Nestle has pledged to source all of its coffee sustainably, and that it is now aiming for 20% of its coffee to be grown using'regenerative' agricultural practices.

Among these are planting cover crops to protect soils, using organic fertilizers to improve soil fertility and increasing the use of agroforestry and intercropping to preserve biodiversity - all with the aim of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

In a statement announcing its plans to double spending on sustainable coffee sourcing, the company said it will support farmers who take on the risks and costs associated with the move to regenerative agriculture and will provide programmes to help them improve their income.

According to a coffee report published last year, there is little evidence that the efforts of the top coffee roasters and traders to prevent human rights and environmental abuses are having any impact, with most farmers operating at a loss and unable to produce sustainably.

The coffee sector is valued at $200 billion -- $250 billion a year at retail level, but producing countries receive less than 10% of that value when exporting beans, and farmers even less than that.

Nearly 125 million people in the world depend on coffee for their livelihoods, and an estimated 80% of coffee-farming families live below or below the poverty line, according to non-profit organisations Fairtrade and Technoserve.