Toward a new definition of sustainable coffee

In the coffee lands of Tarrazú in Costa Rica, children are learning the alphabet, painting, and drawing. It is morning at one of multiple Casas de Alegría, or Houses of Joy, day care centers that come to life during coffee harvest season, roughly from December through February. While both parents work the harvest, their kids are learning, playing, getting healthy meals, and receiving medical care. For Peet’s Coffee, the Casas de Alegría program is just one of nearly 40 projects it is supporting in coffee growing regions around the world. They are part of the fabric of Peet’s industry-leading Sourcing With Impact initiative.  

“Where there is a more limited social safety net for migrant farm workers, parents often find themselves in a bind when it comes to finding a safe place for their children,” said Doug Welsh, Peet’s Vice President of Coffee. “The addition of every day care center makes a difference.” 

In 2021, Peet’s reached 100% responsibly sourced coffee per Enveritas standards. The groundbreaking achievement was the result of a multi-year process with the non-profit Enveritas to verify the conditions and practices of the more than 59,000 mostly small coffee farms in 24 origins around the world that supply coffee beans to Peet’s.

Since 2016 we’ve partnered with the non-profit Enveritas to get a more accurate measurement of farm-level sustainability conditions – the starting point for how Peet’s is Sourcing with Impact. "At Peet's, responsible sourcing requires that we identify challenges, invest in projects that improve lives, and then measure that progress. The reach of this accomplishment—applying consistent sustainability standards to all the coffee we roast—is just the beginning," said Doug Welsh, Peet’s VP Coffee & Roastmaster. By being held accountable by a third-party verifier, the work can be accurately and honestly assessed.

This work takes us to the farm level of our coffee supply chain in more than 20 countries around the globe, including reaching farms beyond the reach of certification programs. Nick Kirby, Enveritas Partnership Manager, helps us pull back the curtain on how Enveritas evaluates key social, environmental, and economic standards for farmers and millers. “I think that providing transparency into the realities of production is what Enveritas really brings to Peet’s,” says Nick.

30 Standards Evaluated by Enveritas Audits - table courtesy of Enveritas

STANDARDS FOR IMPACT 

Peet’s is 100% responsibly sourced per Enveritas standards. This means that every single coffee we purchase is verified for sustainability conditions and improvement activities. We believe the responsibility to look deeper into conditions at origin is on us coffee roasters. We cannot—and should not—do it alone. Only by being held accountable by an independent, third-party verifier can the work be accurately and honestly assessed.

POWERED BY PEOPLE, PLUS AI

One of Enveritas’s goals is to ultimately reach a representative sample of coffee farmers in every major growing region of the world to gain a truly accurate view of social, environmental, and economic conditions. In Peet’s coffee supply chains alone, Enveritas visits roughly 20,000 farms annually. Their innovative approach includes identifying farms in coffee growing regions by using satellite imagery and machine learning. Over 300 survey enumerators verify farms each year and conduct in-person interviews with farmers. "Because we can deploy this team, we are continually refining our tools through ground-truthing to reach even the most remote coffee farms,” says Nick. “Peet's was an early adopter of this inclusive approach.”

DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS 

With these evaluations as Peet’s guide, and by working alongside coffee producers and other partners in the communities where we source, we can target our efforts to make sustainability improvements. "The verification results guide a data-driven approach to supplier engagement and continuous improvement," says Nick. "While these results illuminate opportunities for investment, they also offer a credible way to celebrate success and recognize the accomplishments of ongoing efforts."

PARTNERS AT ORIGIN 

Peet’s has made a long-term commitment to support our dedicated, hard-working business partners in every origin where we source coffee, especially as they face mounting challenges related to climate change and other concerns. When we invest in training opportunities, coffee plant science, and community services at the point of origin, it’s a virtuous circle where everyone is positioned to thrive.