Nespresso is proud to have won a top prize in the Fairtrade Max Havelaar Switzerland Awards which recognises Swiss organisations that have invested in and promoted fair trade practices and products.
Staged in what is Fairtrade’s 30th anniversary year, the awards are designed to celebrate the successful companies, campaigns, initiatives and innovations that are making a positive impact in the world.
Nespresso was named winner in the ‘Innovation’ category, which acknowledges the efforts of companies that distinguish themselves through particularly innovative approaches to fair trade.
The winners were chosen by an independent jury of experts from economics, trade and development policy organizations, including B Lab Schweiz and the Wyss Academy for Nature.
Nespresso has a long-standing history with fair trade
Nespresso’s relationship with Fairtrade goes back to 2014 when we started working with the organisation as part of the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program, which we launched in back in 2003 with NGO Rainforest Alliance.
The programme supports more than 140,000 coffee producers in the areas of productivity, quality and sustainability. Together with Fairtrade, we created the Farmer Future programme which aims to create innovative solutions to improve the living conditions of coffee farmers, motivate younger generations to grow coffee and ensure a long-term supply of quality coffee.
A number of projects have been launched since then, including:
- The creation of a new type of pension fund in a public-private partnership between the Colombian Ministry of Labour, Nespresso and Fairtrade. Due to its success, the Ministry of Labour opened this pension programme to a large proportion of Colombian citizens.
- The implementation of a weather index insurance programme to support farmers in Colombia in 2018.
- The development of crop-loss insurance, in collaboration with Blue Marble Microinsurance. The index-based insurance solution means Colombian coffee growers are insured against weather-related crop losses. This provides them with a more stable income and longer-term planning possibilities.
- The establishment of a new Fairtrade cooperative in Sumatra in 2017. Being part of a coffee cooperative provides farmers with many benefits, such as access to training in sustainable farming practices, or procuring affordable supplies and equipment – opportunities individual smallholders would not be able to acquire so easily alone. This allows farmers to process their coffee and achieve the highest quality, while simultaneously obtaining Fairtrade International Certification.
- The launch of two coffees sourced entirely from Fairtrade cooperatives in 2018.
- In 2021, we implemented the first living income project for coffee farmers in Colombia.
More to come in the future
But, when it comes to fair trade practices and products, Nespresso does not intend to stop there. Together with Fairtrade, we are innovating to address some of the biggest challenges that farming communities face, with the aim that such cooperation brings benefits to thousands of farmers. Current projects in the pipeline include a community-based approach to child protection and dedicated childcare initiatives for farming communities, developing a definition of a ‘living income’, and creating new clusters of Nespresso Fairtrade-certified coffee.
For more information about the Awards, visit https://www.fairtrademaxhavelaar.ch/fr/a-propos-de-nous/campagnes-et-activites/30-ans-fairtrade-max-havelaar/fairtrade-awards-suisse-2022
