Following the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP27, last week, the effort to tackle global warming is back in an even brighter spotlight.

It’s evident that big decisions need to be made by state leaders for us all to collectively transition away from fossil fuel use and keep the 1.5 target alive. But as a business, we know that we also need to do our part in any way we can.

As a consumer, you might also be thinking about how you can make more sustainable decisions in your daily life. And we understand – it can be a real minefield when you’re looking to make these choices.

So what is sustainable coffee? What are the key issues facing the world of coffee? And what defines sustainable beans?

We’re here with the easy-to-digest answers to the most confusing questions surrounding sustainable coffee.

What is sustainable coffee?

By definition, something that’s ‘sustainable’ is something that can be maintained at a certain rate or level. So when it comes to sustainable coffee, it’s best to look at two separate unsustainable issues.

The first is coffee farmers losing money on the volatile commodity market. While traders watch the price of coffee change by the minute, many farmers don’t have running water. This is unethical and simply can’t continue.

The second is deforestation. It’s predicted that the world’s coffee-producing area will have decreased by 50% by 2050, and careless coffee production will only exacerbate this. 

Climate change also brings extreme water shortages, hailstorms, erratic rainfall and growing seasons and higher risk of plant disease – this has a huge impact on farmers who depend on coffee as their sole source of income.

What is Pact doing to make coffee sustainable?

As a B Corp-certified company, we’re kept under close scrutiny to make sure we continue to use business as a force for good.

We’re taking an ethical approach to coffee by going straight to the farmer, working with them to produce speciality (the very best) coffee and giving them a price that they can actually live on. Read more about our approach to ethical coffee.

But back to our main topic, climate change, and what we’re doing to play our small part to combat it.

What about the Pact roastery?

Our roastery is now carbon-neutral, we use 100% green energy, and we roast coffee within two to three days of deliveries to maximise roasting capacity and minimise energy use.

Our roasters reduce the greenhouse gases of every roast by up to 70% and save tens of thousands of pounds of CO2 every week. 

Pact deliveries are done by Royal Mail, who have by far the lowest reported carbon footprint per parcel delivered in the UK.

What is Pact doing in coffee-producing countries?

It’s deeply saddening for lush rainforests to be stripped of their rich ecosystems. Often this is due to farmers having to make ends meet – and if we pay them a premium for their coffee, this won’t be necessary.

At Pact, we never encourage farmers to increase production volume beyond their means. We want them to scale up in a safe, sustainable way that will future proof their career.

That’s why we finance local agronomists to work with farmers and help them to increase speciality coffee yields on areas they’re already farming.

We also work with some fantastic farms who are reaching great heights with their conservation and reforestation work. For example, Zaroca, where Gilberto Basilio has replenished land which was formerly stripped for sugar cane.

There’s also a new variety of Arabica coffee, called Cenicafé 1, that was bred to be resistant to a number of different diseases, including the very troublesome leaf rust.

As temperatures increase, so does the risk of disease – and this means Cenicafé 1 is a serious plus for the future of Colombian coffee in the face of warmer temperatures.

Cenicafé 1 took no less than 20 years to create, and we were proud to launch it as a world exclusive.

What can I do to make sure my coffee is sustainable?

If you’re looking for ethical coffee, we’d recommend buying from a company that’s transparent with the prices that it pays to farmers. In 2021, we paid, on average, 60% above the Fairtrade base price.

There are also a few markers that you can look for when searching for sustainable coffee. For example, the B Corp logo shows that the company in question is kept under close scrutiny by the non-profit B Lab on environmental issues.

Unfortunately, there’s no hard-and-fast rule here, as, ultimately, the ills of the trade can be covered up in the complex supply chain by bad actors. 

As a rule of thumb, the more transparency involved, the better. So if the roaster’s happy to talk about the origin, the farmer and the price paid, it’s more likely to be sustainable coffee.

PS - looking for sustainably and ethically sourced coffee for your business? Drop us a line over on Pact Coffee for Business.