George Clooney, long-time brand ambassador, joined global leaders in sustainability as part of Nespresso’s first Sustainability Advisory Board, to announce major new initiatives in the areas of farmer welfare and environmental stewardship.
Long term sustainability strategy
The Nespresso Sustainability Advisory Board (NSAB) is comprised of experts and thought leaders in the area of sustainability. It has been established to solicit views and provide insight and recommendations to enhance Nespresso’s long term sustainability strategy and to serve as a base for additional partnerships on new initiatives. The official formation of the board coincides with the 10th anniversary of the company’s AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program, a cornerstone of the company’s sustainability efforts.
AAA Program – delivering results
For 10 years, Nespresso has worked with the Rainforest Alliance and other key partners on the AAA Program, a unique approach that combines a focus on quality and sustainability to produce benefits for farmers and their communities. The program is producing concrete results on the ground in coffee growing communities. A study performed by Colombian research institute CRECE, demonstrates significantly higher levels of environmental, economic and social performance for AAA farms versus non-AAA farms.
Expansion of AAA Program in Africa with TechnoServe
At the inaugural NSAB meeting in Lausanne, Mr. Duvoisin, CEO of Nestle Nespresso was joined by George Clooney and TechnoServe President and CEO, Bruce McNamer to announce two major new initiatives in Africa: the expansion of the AAA Program in Ethiopia and Kenya and a program to re-establish coffee supply from South Sudan.
In Ethiopia and Kenya, Nespresso will expand the AAA Program to include more smallholder coffee farmers and will partner with local governments and TechnoServe to improve coffee sustainability at farm level. The company will also launch community development programs that address key socio-economic challenges in the coffee growing communities and support farmer welfare.
The partners expect to double the amount of coffee sourced from the region to 10,000 tons by 2020 through the extension of the program to smallholder farmers. This significant expansion of the AAA Program will build upon the strong success of the program in Latin America and its recent expansion to India. Currently, over 56,000 farmers are part of the AAA Program and the company is sourcing approximately 80% of its coffee from AAA farms.
The South Sudan project, in cooperation with TechnoServe and George Clooney, will revive high quality coffee production in the country to contribute to economic development and create supply. It is expected that thousands of smallholder farmers will benefit from the initiative. As part of the program, Nespresso plans to be the first company to offer coffee from the country following its independence.
George Clooney commented:
“I am excited for the opportunity to bring together my role as an ambassador for Nespresso and an advocate for a better future for the people of South Sudan. This program will help farmers and their families secure their future by building new sources of sustainable business in this region.
“It will provide much-needed income and security for thousands of farmers and their families living in coffee communities and has the potential to play an important role in helping to diversify the economic base in the country.”
AAA Farmer Future Program with Fairtrade International and Colombian farmer cooperatives
Mr. Duvoisin also joined with Fairtrade International CEO Harriet Lamb and representatives of five Fairtrade certified cooperatives in Caldas, Colombia to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to pilot the AAA Farmer Future Program. The program responds to the need of farmers to guard against the risks of price volatility and other factors contributing to instability in the sector. Specifically, the program aims to introduce social welfare provisions to benefit farmers and their families, including health and accident coverage and retirement planning. As part of the initiative, Nespresso will market coffee sourced from the AAA farmer cooperatives in the region and certified by Fairtrade.
Expansion of AAA Program and agro-forestry initiatives with the Rainforest Alliance
Nespresso also announced continued investment in bringing all its farmers into the AAA Program and increasing the number of farmers who obtain Rainforest Alliance certification, building on the strong results of the Program over the past 10 years. In addition, it announced an expansion of its agro-forestry program, in partnership with the Rainforest Alliance and Pur Projet, to optimise the carbon footprint of coffee farming. Nespresso has reduced its carbon footprint per cup by 20% since 2009.
“We are excited to be joining together with Nespresso to address the very real issues and risks that coffee farmers face on a daily basis,” said Harriet Lamb, President of Fairtrade International. “Farmers are exposed to many risks, including low productivity, price volatility and fluctuations in exchange rates. These factors can severely impact their livelihoods. This unique pilot project will seek to provide the security farmers need to provide for their families and invest in their future.”