Irish coffee company Bewley’s has been recognised for its role in sustainable coffee production by leading conservationist Dr Jane Goodall.
According to Dr Goodall, Bewley’s-backed innovations in Honduras, Central America, will lead coffee’s response to the climate emergency. She says coffee contributes to the destruction of the tropical forest where it is grown and, beyond the damage to the ecosystem, farmers are often poorly paid, causing millions to live in poverty.
Bewley’s has supported a world-first Integrated Open Canopy (IOC) system, which ensures 50 per cent of a coffee farm consists of conserved or restored forest habitat.
It is also backing a project using solar energy and biofuel to dry its coffee, rather than clearing forest for firewood to power industrial coffee dryers.
“I applaud Bewley’s for being the leading company supporting sustainable coffee grown using the groundbreaking IOC method,” says Dr Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute.
“This program, which pioneers IOC and industrial-scale renewable energy in coffee processing, is aiming to set an unprecedented standard for sustainability in coffee worldwide.”
Both Dr Goodall and Bewley’s have endorsed the Mesoamerican Development Institute (MDI) model for sustainable coffee production. The company’s Subirana coffee is the product of patented technology designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and restore forest habitat and biodiversity.
Bewley’s direct funding and coffee purchases from the Comisyl co-op is enabling investment in IOC farming. Furthermore, because growing coffee at high altitudes usually means clearing forest to provide wood for coffee dryers, the Dublin-headquartered company has also backed the Café Solar project for the scale-up of carbon-neutral coffee processing, powered by solar energy and biofuels.
Additionally, Bewley’s has recently become the first Irish coffee company of scale to achieve B Corp certification, which measures a business’s positive impact on society and the environment.
“Bewley’s Subirana coffee points the way to the future for the industry,” says Cathal Murphy, Head of Innovation and Sustainability.
“This is the first coffee recognised by researchers to go beyond shade canopy to restoring and conserving actual forest habitat on farms.”
He adds there is only one type of sustainability in a supply chain industry – it must be profitable for the farmers, nurture the community, and be good for the environment. He continues that anything that does not achieve all three is “an a la carte solution” and consumers need to educate themselves as to the ecological cost of their purchases.
