Two sides of the same coin
Why Tchibo sees coffee quality and sustainability as belonging together.
Tchibo has been providing its customers with top-quality coffee since 1949. We want to continue meeting these high standards. For this reason, we view quality and sustainability as being inextricably linked. Environmentally and socially responsible methods of cultivation secure the continued availability of the raw coffee quality we require. This means that accepting our responsibility is also an act of securing the future - in two ways: For us, it means managing risks and ensuring our access to high-quality raw coffee. And for coffee farmers, it means the long-term opportunity to earn a decent living.
The structures that dominate the coffee market present us with a particular challenge. Large parts of the sector are characterised by a lack of transparency and traceability back to the individual coffee farmer. An estimated 25 million small farmers work in coffee cultivation in developing countries and emerging economies. This large number of coffee farmers and the frequently small production volumes resulting from this situation make tracing raw coffee back to the individual farmer a complicated process. However, doing this is the only way in which we can take targeted action to improve sustainability. For the major part of our range, we are still faced with the complex task of creating transparency around our coffee's journey from tree to cup - and ensuring minimum environmental and social standards.
Working together to effect lasting change
We consider facing up to the challenges presented by tomorrow an essential part of our idea of our responsibility. We make our contribution to a sustainable coffee sector by cooperating with suppliers, coffee farmers and standards organisations. We will only be able to effect lasting change if all involved work together to prepare all participants in the supply chain for the challenges of the future; these, of course, include the effects of climate change on coffee cultivation, an issue whose importance is increasing. This is why we are involved in measures such as supporting coffee farmers in identifying and implementing ways of making coffee farms more resilient to changing climatic conditions.
Our goal: a range consisting of 100 per cent sustainable coffee
Our goal is to offer only sustainable coffee in the mid term future. In other words, we intend to exclusively purchase raw coffees from coffee farms which meet at least the requirements of one baseline standard in the coffee sector, e.g. 4C standard, or generally recognised certification standards such as Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance Certified™ or the organic seal according to the EU regulations on organic farming. In 2010, we increased the proportion of our coffee which meets these standards from 8,0 per cent (2009’s figure) to 9.6 per cent.
