Nespresso has published the results of its seven-year sustainability strategy and series of goals, as part of the company’s commitment to every cup of Nespresso coffee being carbon neutral by 2022.
Nespresso invested CHF 585 million (A$862 million) between 2014 and 2020 in advancing the sustainability of its operations including certified coffee sourcing, carbon reduction and capsule recycling. Key outcomes include:
Sustainable coffee sourcing
More than 93% of Nespresso permanent coffee is now sourced sustainably through its AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program, up from 84% in 2014, including 48% certified coffee, up by 9 points since 2014.
Nespresso continued to drive innovative projects to help protect coffee farmer welfare, like pioneering innovative retirement savings and crop insurance schemes. Today, over 2,000 coffee farmers in Colombia and 1,500 farmers in Indonesia have a pension saving scheme in place. Over 4,700 coffee farmers in Colombia are enrolled in crop insurance, protecting over 15,000 hectares.
Aluminium and recycling
Nespresso reached a global recycling rate of 32% at the end of 2020, up by 17% since 2014, with 90% of Nespresso consumers worldwide having access to used-capsule recycling solutions.
Nespresso recycling efforts cover 59 countries, with dedicated recycling systems in 54 countries. The brand also shares its infrastructure with other capsule manufacturers in five countries. In 38 countries, Nespresso offers a ‘Recycling at Home’ option, which allow consumers to have their used capsules collected from their place of residence.
Nespresso created the first-ever sustainable virgin aluminium standard as a founding member of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI). ASI set the first-ever global standards for sustainably, responsibly produced aluminium. All Nespresso production centres are now ASI-certified, and Nespresso has identified recycled aluminium suppliers for ASI certification, with the goal of full certification by 2022.
In Australia, Nespresso claims to have built the most successful privately run recycling program in the country, where 100% of customers can recycle their capsules.
Climate
Nespresso has reduced the carbon footprint of each cup of coffee by 24%, compared to its 2009 baseline, through investment in the expansion of renewable energy use, introducing eco-design into products, sourcing low carbon materials and optimising logistics.
Nespresso global head of sustainability, Jérôme Perez said ‘The Positive Cup’ has guided the company on its sustainability journey for the past seven years to help maintain focus and momentum on achieving its goals.
“We have learnt a lot, and we’re proud of our achievements. Yet, we know we need to do more and accelerate our journey in this decisive decade to 2030 by increasing the scale of our coffee sourcing program, expanding the recycling of our capsules through industry-wide approaches, pushing innovation and driving systemic change, especially through agroforestry. The Positive Cup is the launchpad and successful model upon which we will continue building to drive further advancements to preserve the future of our planet,” he said.
Nespresso Australia provides customers with 19,000 capsule collection points and has partnered with Planet Ark to encourage customers to recycle used capsules. The company has also partnered with UNSW to support the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT@UNSW) to develop new and innovative ways to recycle used materials.