{"id":27484,"date":"2020-04-01T01:01:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T08:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/?p=27484"},"modified":"2020-06-24T12:04:23","modified_gmt":"2020-06-24T19:04:23","slug":"sustainable-sourcing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/sustainable-sourcing\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainable Sourcing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo source: Organic Products Trading Company<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sustainability, as it relates to the coffee industry, is a broad term, and it can mean many things, from ethical pricing and environmental stewardship to energy-efficient production and green packaging.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

But for many companies on the front lines of sustainable practices, the term\u2014and the mission behind it\u2014begins, primarily, by prioritizing fair dealings with farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beginning with a Mission<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Portland, Oregon-based, specialty-grade green coffee importer Sustainable Harvest, which launched in 1997, \u201cwas never truly formed to be a coffee trading company first,\u201d says Jorge Cuevas, the company\u2019s chief coffee officer. \u201cIt was designed and built to be a company to deliver positive economic or social impact to coffee-growing communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, the leadership team at Sustainable Harvest views the coffee trade as a mechanism for doing good, rather than the end goal in and of itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe never buy or sell coffee for the sake of it,\u201d says Cuevas. \u201cThere\u2019s always a higher purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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JORGE CUEVAS<\/strong> (center) with farmers at Sustainable Harvest\u2019s Most Valuable Producer training event in Nicaragua. Photo by Bryan Clifton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For Sustainable Harvest, that higher purpose manifests in avoiding commodity pricing and focusing on areas where the company can add value to the coffee supply chain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes it may mean [seeking] certifications\u2014Organic, Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, or any variation of those,\u201d says Cuevas. \u201cSometimes it may mean [supporting] project coffees, like Youth Initiative or NextGen coffees\u2014supporting folks 35 and under getting into coffee farming\u2014which are coming on very strong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fair Pricing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One critical way that mission-minded companies can add value to the coffee supply chain is, of course, by paying fair, sustainable prices for the coffees they are sourcing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t buy anything below $1.80\/pound. None, ever. That\u2019s going back years,\u201d says Stephen Hurst, who launched Mercanta, a United Kingdom-based specialty coffee supplier, in 1996. (Mercanta\u2019s North American base opened in Seattle in 2006.) Today, the company has relationships with growers in 20 countries and sells to roasters in 40 countries across the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MERCANTA<\/strong>: (from left) Alda, Megan, Juan, and Stephen at the Finca La Falda mill in Colombia. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe only way to guarantee a fair and sustainable outright final contract price is to only buy at outright prices, and that is what Mercanta does. Our global average purchase price actually ranges annually between $2.25 and $2.50\/pound and is currently easily double the current commodity price for coffee,\u201d Hurst wrote last April in a Mercanta blog post explaining the company\u2019s dedication to price guarantees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking recently by phone, Hurst further stressed his conviction that the current commodity price is simply too low for farmers to make a sustainable living wage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNinety percent of the business is probably done on the commodity market,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople say, \u2018That\u2019s the way of the business, and everybody does it like that.\u2019 But I disagree.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing a good buyer means paying above market prices,\u201d agrees Michelle Stoler, who handles green coffee purchasing and sales for Shared Source, a coffee buying team based in Melbourne, Australia, with U.S. operations in Portland, Oregon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Puras sonrisas in San Antonio Huista! We spent the day climbing through farms- hearing about agricultural successes and challenges, admiring new plantings, and checking out on-farm wet mills. Very excited to see new shade cloth for slow and gentle drying, and improved wet mills with infinity screw screens for better sorting! ??<\/a><\/p>

A post shared by Shared Source<\/a> (@sharedsource) on