Nestle to Invest SFr500 Million in Coffee Projects
In addition to the SFr200m (Eur150m) invested over the past ten years, Nestle will invest SFr500m in coffee projects by 2020. This includes an investment of SFr350m for the Nescafe Plan, which aims to bring under one umbrella Nestle’s commitments on coffee farming, production and consumption. The just launched Nescafe Plan contains a set of objectives which will help Nestle further optimise its coffee supply chain.
The Rainforest Alliance, an international non-governmental organisation, will support Nestle together with other partners of the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) and the coffee association, 4C, in meeting the Nescafe Plan objectives related to farming.
Over the next five years, Nestle will double the amount of Nescafe coffee bought directly from farmers and their associations, eventually purchasing 180,000 tonnes of coffee from around 170,000 farmers every year. With the support of the Rainforest Alliance and the 4C Association, all directly purchased green coffee will meet the internationally-recognized 4C sustainability standards by 2015. In addition, 90,000 tonnes of Nescafe coffee will be sourced according to the Rainforest Alliance and Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) principles by 2020.
Under the Nescafe Plan, Nestle will distribute 220 million high-yield, disease-resistant coffee plantlets to farmers by 2020. This helps farmers to rejuvenate their plantations, thus multiplying the yield on existing land and increasing farmers’ income.
