Brewing Change: Nespresso's Journey to Sustainability

For many of us, coffee plays an integral role in our daily lives. Whether it’s a double espresso to get you through a long day, or a cappuccino to catch up with friends, coffee has become a ritualistic part of the way we live. Therefore, it is all the more important that we understand where our coffee comes from, helping us to make the right choice when buying coffee pods and deciding which businesses to support. However, the endless variety of brands stocked by local supermarkets poses an issue; taking the time to meticulously wade through each row of Arabica is a time-consuming and simply unrealistic task. I myself have been guilty of such laziness. For years I have relied on Nespresso to cure my at-home caffeine fixes, tied in by their loyalty schemes, machine deals and pod offerings. Instead of proactively seeking out other options, I would simply reach for the sleek black packaging I know and love. So as I was thinking about which brand to report on, Nespresso instantly came to mind. It’s long overdue that I take the time to look; to understanded where their coffee actually comes from.

Who are Nespresso?

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Nespresso is a coffee company owned by the Nestlé Group, known for their high-quality coffee pods, machines and coffee accessories. Their machines brew espresso out of capsules with pre-apportioned ground coffee, in the hopes of delivering a ‘barista like experience’. With a suite of different machines, Nespresso offer 30 Original coffees, 35 Vertuo coffees, and 17 Professional coffees, as well as Limited Editions that showcase rare varieties from around the world. Their high quality is achieved by selecting the rarest beans, crafting them with creativity and care. As you may have noticed on their packaging, Nespresso is both a certified B-Corporation and part of the Rainforest Alliance, shown through the famous ‘green frog’ seal and B-Corp logo. This shows that farmers and companies are committed to high standards of social and environmental performance, as well as taking steps to ensure their products meet the criteria of the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard. In this way, Nespresso sees coffee as a force for good, not only for the consumer experience, but in bringing together communities and preserving landscapes for the better, leaving a positive impact on the lives of people and nature. Let’s take a closer look…

Coffee and Climate

Since 2003, Nespresso has been working with the Rainforest Alliance to promote regenerative agriculture at scale on their AAA farms, focusing on key practices such as composting, organic fertiliser, cover crops, and multi-strata shade cover. With the help of advisory consultant company ReNature, Nespresso has developed training programs on their farms to support the scalability of such regenerative systems. These collaborations aim to drive positive change across the coffee sector, emphasising soil management, biodiversity, and ecosystem services to conserve nature and enhance farmer resilience. Developed through these partnerships, Nespresso has created a Regenerative Coffee Scorecard, guiding farmers through a stepwise pathway from efficient practices to redesigned nature-based farming. Interestingly however, the scorecard has been marketed as a voluntary tool, undermining its effectiveness when farmers choose to ignore the guidelines. Whilst I understand that some farms may be better equipped to introduce sustainable practices than others, if Nespresso fails to implement the scorecard across the board, it might as well be made useful and recycled into their next month’s packaging.

Still, efforts to reduce emissions from Nespresso products and systems have led to a 24% reduction in the carbon footprint per cup since the start of their climate plan, and this can be largely accredited to their biodiversity initiatives. Since 2014, Nespresso has planted 7.358 million trees in over 10 countries, investing in natural solutions that offer dual benefits for both people and the planet. This aims to maintain the natural eco-systems on their coffee farms, promoting the protection of existing forests, conservation of waterways and rivers that increase tree diversity in and around farms. A great example of this is Nespresso’s CWC water project in Cerrado, Brazil. Climate smart agriculture and biodiversity protection aims to consciously maintain the 1,600 species of animal and 4,800 plant and vertebrate species that live there, found nowhere else on the planet. Bird photography competitions like Nuestro Café, Nuestras Aves” (“Our Coffee, Our Birds”) are also used to foster positive relationships between farmers and local wildlife, with awards given for the best submissions.

Over in Colombia, Nespresso’s project with UBees is benefitting production through monitoring local beehives, encouraging pollination, and spreading micro-organisms around the farm which improve crop yield. This has estimated to have generated more than USD 950 additional income per farm in 2020. Schemes such as these emphasise the symbiotic relationship between coffee production and the environment, working in harmony to create a balanced ecosystem where coffee cultivation can thrive without compromising the environment which it relies on.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

With waste management in mind, Nespresso is increasing the use of recycled materials, promoting machine refurbishment, and optimising production to recover and reuse heat and water. Its capsules are made of aluminium, which can be infinitely reused and recycled. What’s more, their Original and Vertuo pods are made up of 80% recycled aluminium, further reducing product waste and contributing to a circular economy. Partnering with Podback, Nespresso also offers a recycling service to their customers, where you can receive a free recycling bag to fill up with used capsules. These can then be picked up or dropped off at a local store for the aluminium casing to be recycled. Once separated, the used coffee grounds are used to create renewable energy through biogas or scattered to improve soil. 

This has been implemented at their Singapore coffee farm, where coffee grounds are used to make compost, along with sawdust, vegetable waste, yeast, soil and fertiliser. Waste reduction schemes such as this are central to Nespresso’s sustainability schemes. They also partner with Zeta Shoes, a zero waste fashion start-up who incorporate it’s recycled coffee grounds into the soles of their RE:GROUND shoe capsule collection, used with grape marc, corn waste, cork and recycled leather to create eco-friendly footwear.

Coffee Communities 

As a member of the Fair Labor Association (FLA), Nespresso recognises the crucial role that businesses, governments, and civil society all play in tackling these systemic issues across the global coffee supply chain. 95% of the coffee Nespresso purchases is at or above the Fairtrade Minimum Price, made possible through a transparent supply chain and improved productivity. Using tracking technology with OpenSC, customers can trace where their coffee has come from; from farmer to cup. It also ensures that each farmer receives a fair wage for their work and the AAA premium, which is on average 30 – 40% more than the market price for green coffee and 10 – 15% more than the market rate for similar specialty blends. On their East African farms, Nespresso’s focus lies on improving productivity. Key practices such as pruning and plant rejuvenation can allow for higher yields, translating to higher revenue and worker’s wages. However, only a quarter of the farms there have implemented this, restricting the benefits seen by the wider community. Let’s not pretend that this doesn’t also benefit the company. More coffee collected and sold increases their profit margins as much as much as it does help the farmers. To ensure fairness, Nespresso need to offer support to all their locations, avoiding discrepancies and inequalities between farms. Investing in better technologies and machinery to aid in production processes would also increase efficiency and productivity so the grind never stops.

Jokes aside, I do believe that Nespresso are making a positive difference. Gender inclusion and equality initiatives are also leveraged to strengthen communities and empower farmers, especially women working under unequal gender laws. This is achieved through activities such as Women's Leadership, Financial Literacy and Household Nutrition, and Safe Spaces; a learning activity for both men and women that aims to change harmful gender norms. Beyond gender inequality, Nespresso has also helped to rebuild coffee plants in areas that have suffered through conflict, economic or environmental disaster. This has been hugely successful in the DRC, giving access to clean water and creating jobs with the help of Asili, building lasting change in this highly challenged region. Nespresso have also worked to revive the coffee industry in a war-weary South Sudan, aiming to provide a sustainable source of income for 50,000 families in the future. Within their Colombian operations, Nespresso have invested in a Retirement savings scheme for coffee farmers – the first one in the industry. With additional support from the government and personal investments, this will support the farmers even after they leave the company, which currently sits at just under 3,100 AAA farmers.

Too good to be true?

All of this is truly impressive, and made me feel good about having supported Nespresso all this time. However, much of this information is what Nespresso themselves are saying, so of course I needed to dig deeper. Whilst their capsules are recyclable, it requires specialised machinery to be carried out - technology which traditional recycling plants don’t have access to (Pellegrino, 2023). Also, Nespresso conveniently fail to publish how many of their pods end up in landfill. Don’t worry because I can tell you; 72% (Canning, 2022). Even though they might be infinitely recyclable, not all their customers know about their PodBack system and might assume that they are already doing their bit by recycling the pods as normal. So, if like me you use Nespresso capsules, take advantage of their recycling scheme to make sure your waste doesn’t go to waste. 

Whilst priding themselves on a secure value chain, it seems as though issues have still managed to seep through the cracks. In 2020, Nespresso was caught up in a child labour scandal after a TV show investigation revealed children under 13 were working on farms in Guatemala that supply the company with coffee beans. Once this was found out, Nespresso went farm by farm, to 400 farms, identifying 3 with supply chain issues. As a result, the company invested in opening new schools in the area, replacing the shot at a better life from coffee to education (Henderson, 2023). Nespresso isn’t perfect, but taking accountability for their actions and proactively seeking improvements is a step in the right direction. 

I guess the last thing to ask myself after all this is: will I keep buying from Nespresso? And I think the answer is yes. But they’re not the only ones I will be supporting from now on. Whilst I recognise that Nespresso is making large efforts to be sustainable, I also know they can do better – so I can too. I therefore wanted to end this article by highlighting a few alternatives that caught my eye - some for all of us to keep in mind the next time we buy coffee.

1. For those of you with an original machine, go for GRIND. Compostable coffee pods that are unmissable with their signature pink packaging. And if you’re ever in London, check out one of their three Café locations.
2. With fully recyclable packaging and compostable capsules, Aussie brand Lost Sheep Coffee is a great one. Their pods are also made in a carbon neutral factory – how cool is that?!
3. Kiss The Hippo is a fully carbon negative company, partnering with Swiss non-profit On A Mission to ensure that they offset more carbon than they produce, through forest regeneration. They are London’s first carbon negative coffee company, with 8 locations across the city!

Or avoid the hassle all together and live life the decaf way. I hear hot chocolate is a pretty sweet alternative.