A Greener and Fairer Future

Towards a Greener Future

Recently, Sucafina released its sustainability report for the year 2020, “Shared Value for a Better Future.” In the report, we discuss the long-term initiatives we are launching to address the three core action pillars of our 2030 sustainability strategy: Caring for People, Investing in Farmers and Protecting our Planet.  

Sucafina also announced its intention to invest in agribusinesses that are on the forefront of sustainability and innovation. We are pleased to partner with Stefano Rettore, a senior leader in the agrifood sector, to launch our agribusiness investment division.  We will focus on companies where we can contribute not only capital but also experience, network, and strategy.

On another front, we continue to advance our carbon footprint mapping project. We’ve been working to calculate our carbon footprint in each of our origin and destination operations. We’re finalizing our report on our greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) at our Australia offices. The report will calculate our total carbon footprint for our Australia operations, as well as the CO2 equivalent per kilogram of green coffee. This year, we’ve also calculated our carbon footprint in our Antwerp office and our Rwanda supply chain.

At origin, among other projects, Sucafina has committed to supporting the Viveiro de Atitude project in Cerrado, Brazil. The project funds a tree nursery that grows native Cerrado plants and sells them at affordable prices to help regenerate and conserve the Cerrado biome. As part of their project, proceeds from the nursery are donated to nonprofits in the region that work with children and the elderly.

And a Fairer Future

This year in Uganda, we helped launch the “Increasing Market-Orientated Production for Arabica Coffee Together” (IMPACT) Project. This project is the product of support from Farm Africa and UCDA, as well as co-funding from the European Union. The project is dedicated to empowering coffee farmers, boosting farm productivity, reducing post-harvest handling losses and expanding market opportunities for over 40,000 beneficiaries across the Rwenzori and Kigezi regions. The IMPACT project will further accelerate Uganda’s ambitions to upgrade its coffee value-chain, focusing on delivering quality coffee for export and including smallholder farmers within the value chain.

UGACOF (Sucafina Uganda) is also working with Sawa World to provide coffee farmers, especially women and young people, with new business skills to improve their livelihoods. The project aims to increase incomes for 300 registered Sucafina Uganda farmers in Central Uganda by providing them with access to training and subsidized startup materials to start their own microbusinesses. Each microbusiness will receive startup capital up to 100USD and is projected to produce a monthly income of 25 to 30USD.

Sucafina Uganda and Sucafina Brazil are beginning 4C and Rainforest Alliance certifications for farmers in their supply chain. Keep an eye out for more information about this project.

These programs are only small highlights of our wider Sustainability efforts. We offer many opportunities for roasters to invest directly in projects like these. Ask your trader for more information about on how you can directly support our sustainability programs – including projects that work to offset climate change, improve cup quality, increase gender equality and enhance food security.