Ofi’s coffee business targets 30% emission reduction and regenerative farming by 2030

02 Feb 2024 --- Olam Food Ingredients (ofi)’s coffee business plans to reduce supply chain emissions by 30% by 2030. The plan supports 20,000 farmers in achieving a living income, expands human rights initiatives to include health and nutrition support and implements regenerative farming practices on 500,000 hectares in key coffee-growing areas.

As the industry faces increased enforcement of human rights and new EU rules, ofi’s coffee teams, stationed in 18 origins across the coffee belt, will leverage innovation and digital capabilities to develop solutions addressing issues from child labor risks to deforestation.

These new sustainability goals are announced under Coffee LENS (Livelihoods, Empowerment, and Nature at Scale) 2.0.

Vivek Verma, coffee chief executive at ofi, says: “Our targets are ambitious, but they’re backed by a sustainability journey spanning 20 years and represent the next chapter in our long-term ambition to build more resilient and regenerative coffee supply chains.”

Empowering farmers
Different key focus areas have been outlined as the objectives of ofi’s coffee business until 2030. In terms of enhancing farmer livelihoods, the company plans to by expanding segmentation models, aiming to provide tailored support to 300,000 farmer households. 

As soluble coffee supplier, ofi connects roasters to a selection of the best green coffees available.Secondly, ofi aims to empower communities by implementing Child Labor Monitoring & Remediation Systems in high-risk supply chains, benefitting 50,000 children through educational support to protect human rights. 

The company also plans to accelerate decarbonization by scaling up climate-smart actions and resource efficiency, targeting a 30% reduction in on-farm greenhouse gas emissions and a 50% reduction in processing plant emissions. 

“Our history of effective action for farmers, rural communities, climate and nature shows that we understand and can develop effective strategies to simultaneously address the most pressing challenges in the industry,” says Verma.

“With the constantly evolving requirements of a sustainable coffee supply chain, we are looking to scale up our efforts and action under Coffee LENS with bigger and bolder targets for 2030.”

Regenerative production with technology innovation
Many companies are warmly embracing the European Parliament’s adoption of a new law aimed at combating global deforestation, considering it a positive stride toward establishing high-quality and sustainable food systems. 

In alignment with the industry, ofi aims to work toward regenerative production systems for the restoration of coffee landscapes. The company has developed a Carbon Sequestration Monitoring (CSM) tool in collaboration with Google geospatial partner NGIS. This tool measures and accounts for carbon stocks on ofi’s coffee, cashew, and cocoa suppliers’ farms and sourcing landscapes.

The digital tools are claimed to enhance ofi’s monitoring frameworks, enabling more efficient interventions to meet their targets. 

“Our bolder approach means that whether we’re supplying specialty coffees, cascara applications, or plant-based latte mixes, we can offer our roaster and manufacturer customers beverage ingredients that come with greater transparency and sustainability impact across their supply chains,” Verma concludes.

Edited by Sichong Wang