What is the concept of sustainability in the coffee industry?

Many coffee-producing countries suffer from extreme poverty and lack effective social infrastructure. In the highly volatile coffee market, producers and their families are incredibly vulnerable.

What is the concept of sustainability in the coffee industry?

Many coffee-producing countries suffer from extreme poverty and lack effective social infrastructure. In the highly volatile coffee market, producers and their families are incredibly vulnerable. The economic sustainability of the industry is closely linked to the social sustainability of communities around the world. Helping farmers improve their economy is seen as a lever for economic sustainability. The traditional thinking is that good production and quality will lead to good prices.

But that's not the case. They will be governed by the market. Therefore, to ensure economic sustainability, these issues must be related to social and environmental outcomes. Climate change and fair coffee prices are legitimately important issues today, but sustainability is not a new idea in the world of coffee. Sustainability has become a buzzword in recent years, but the long-term economic, environmental and social health of the coffee industry are vital considerations.

The geographical isolation of many coffee producers can mean prohibitive costs for practical things such as buying tools or transporting a crop. With 80 member countries and more than 900 participants, including coffee producers and government representatives, the conference will serve as a platform for a wide range of high-level discussions, such as the World Leaders Forum and the Public-Private Working Group on Coffee and the World Leaders Forum. Ever since the first international agreement on coffee in 1962, there has been discussion of how to limit the amount of excess in the market to ensure economic sustainability. Economic sustainability will help to lay the foundations for the common sustainability of the entire industry.

Discover the latest events organized by the coffee sector and follow the upcoming high-level events and international meetings of the ICO and the Public-Private Coffee Working Group. Instead of being sold as commodities, these coffees are sold as single-farm coffees and often have prices that are more than twice as high as price of commodities. Think about the most sustainable way to prepare it and consider whether you can support the projects of an organization that promotes sustainability. During the World Coffee Conference, sponsored by the International Coffee Organization and organized jointly with the Government of India and its Coffee Council in Bangalore, the launch of the new Center for the Circular Economy of Coffee was announced.

The ICO and its partners are co-hosting the 5th World Coffee Conference to discuss critical issues affecting the global coffee industry. Coffee cultivation, specifically coffee cultivation on monoculture farms, can have a negative impact in biodiversity.

Glenna Matthys
Glenna Matthys

Hardcore internet practitioner. Wannabe beer advocate. Infuriatingly humble beer expert. Devoted coffee evangelist. Hardcore social media scholar. Friendly beer fanatic.