By 2020 Nespresso commits toSource 100% Sustainably Grown Coffee

What have we achieved so far

Together with the leading NGO Rainforest Alliance, Nespresso launched the AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program in 2003. The program was established to build long-term direct relationships with farmers from the best coffee growing areas in the world whilst enhancing their productivity, sustainability and coffee quality.

By 2004, hundreds of farmers in Costa Rica, Mexico and Colombia had joined the program. Today, we work with 100,000 farmers worldwide and source over 94 % of our coffees from farmers who are part of the program.

What will we do

Only a small amount of the coffee grown globally meets our specific taste and aroma profiles and our high standards of quality. In order to be able to provide our customers with these high quality coffees now and in the future, we are committed to sourcing 100 % of our coffee sustainably from the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program.

The program The AAA Program implements a vision of quality based on sustainability and integrates environmental conservation, social equity and economic viability.

How will we do it

We are currently collaborating with 100,000 coffee farmers in 13 coffee producing countries. In the next four years we plan to significantly expand the program in Ethiopia, Kenia and South Sudan. We will also assist farmers in other countries to achieve high certification standards – for example in water management, biodiversity and fair labor conditions – through our long-term partner Rainforest Alliance (since 2003) and Fairtrade International.

Together with these partners we will also continue to develop the AAA Farmer Future program, for example with pension plans for coffee farmers, to better protect farmers from the risks in the coffee growing sector..

Quick facts

Building long-term direct relationships with our coffee farmers since 2003
Our team of coffee farmers continues to grow
Tangible positive impacts of the AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program on the farmers
Within our AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program the farmers are monitored by our partners in terms of 39 criteria

The AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program shares many principles and objectives with other sustainability initiatives. However, in addition to social, ecological and environmental sustainability the program also integrates quality as a fundamental pillar to its strategy.

The name reflects the original AA Standard, an indicator for highest quality coffees from Kenia and other regions known for their extraordinary coffees. Nespresso added a third “A”, representing ecological, social and environmental standards. Today, each A stands for one of the program’s three pillars: quality, sustainability and productivity.