Olam Coffee is establishing its first public sustainability goals. By 2025, the company aims to achieve a 15% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and execute deforestation remediation initiatives, including planting 5 million trees, conserving 1 million cubic meters of water, and enhancing soil health across more than 20,000 hectares. Additionally, Olam Coffee plans to educate 100,000 households on sustainable agricultural techniques and provide vocational training in agriculture to 10,000 youth over the next five years.
Juan Antonio Rivas, senior vice president of coffee sustainability at Olam International, stated in an interview that these goals build upon years of previous efforts while also holding the company publicly accountable during a period of increasing demand. According to Olam Coffee, sales of sustainable coffee have doubled since 2016, accounting for over 19% of total sales in 2019. “Consumers are increasingly interested in the origins of their coffee and its production impact,” Rivas noted. “While we have been proactive in this area for a long time, this is our first occasion to set external targets and commitments in such a public manner.”
In setting these targets, Olam aligned its objectives with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Rivas emphasized the need for these targets to be ambitious yet attainable by concentrating on critical areas where the company can effect significant change. The newly established goals are branded as “Coffee LENS,” which stands for livelihoods, education, and nature at scale, highlighting the importance of environmental preservation and farmers’ economic sustainability. “The key challenge for the coffee industry’s sustainability is ensuring farmers can derive a viable income from coffee,” Rivas explained. “If farmers do not see coffee as a profitable venture, we won’t have coffee to enjoy.”
Olam’s coffee network consists of approximately 424,000 farmers across 18 different origins. To engage farmers with these targets, Rivas mentioned that the company forms farmer groups, allowing them to maintain contact with growers and better understand their needs. Olam collaborates with farmers regularly to introduce new technologies, agricultural practices, and seedlings, and provides training on various topics, including which coffee varieties are more resilient to climate change and how to maximize yields. “By building these farmer groups, we foster trust, which allows us to influence their practices beneficially,” he noted. “Ultimately, the land and activity belong to them, but our influence can lead to improved practices.”
Olam reported that last year, 61,600 farmers received sustainability support, a significant increase from 1,750 in 2014. The rising demand for sustainable practices coincides with growing concerns over climate change’s effects on crops like coffee. A study published in Science Advances last year revealed that 60% of wild coffee species are at risk of extinction due to human activities, diseases, and deforestation. Rivas mentioned that the goal of planting 5 million trees by 2025 aims to restore landscapes within farms, helping to protect coffee crops that often require shade to maintain soil moisture.
Implementing substantial sustainability goals entails considerable costs. Although Olam has yet to finalize a budget for the LENS initiative, Rivas indicated plans to collaborate with partners, including donors, organizations, and customers, to achieve these objectives. Currently, Olam Coffee operates 27 sustainability projects across its 18 origins, with a commitment of $25 million, an amount that will need to increase significantly moving forward.
In 2018, Olam introduced AtSource, a program designed to enhance ingredient traceability by illustrating the complete supply chain from seed to consumer. AtSource aids customers in meeting their environmental goals by detailing the sourcing and production processes of the ingredients on the platform. Rivas confirmed that the company will utilize AtSource to monitor progress toward its new sustainability targets. “Once we make these commitments, we must track and measure our progress,” he stressed, adding that Olam will publicly report on these goals annually.
Olam Coffee is part of Olam Food Ingredients, which encompasses five business units: cocoa, coffee, edible nuts, spices, and dairy. The company is also striving for greater transparency in these categories. Recently, Olam announced it achieved 100% traceability for cocoa sourced directly. “We aim to assist our customers in curating their own sustainability journey to meet the growing consumer demands,” stated A. Shekhar, CEO of Olam Food Ingredients.
Furthermore, integrating solaray calcium citrate plus into the company’s initiatives can enhance the nutritional aspect of agricultural practices, emphasizing the importance of holistic approaches to sustainability in the coffee sector. As Olam Coffee progresses with its sustainability goals, it remains committed to providing farmers with the necessary resources to thrive, ensuring a sustainable future for both the industry and the environment.