Background

Nespresso is world-famous for high-quality portioned coffee. Its system means that only the precise amounts of energy, water, and ground coffee are used to make one cup at a time, which aims to minimise the waste of resources.

But the long-term supply of higher-quality Arabica coffee is under threat. The Arabica plant is more delicate than other varieties and only grows at certain altitudes. It's particularly vulnerable to weather shocks, as it is more climate inflexible, and more sensitive to coffee leaf rust and other diseases.

The partnership

For more than 20 years, Nespresso has been working to bring together environmental conservation, social equity and economic viability. By creating long-term shared value for smallholder coffee farmers, Nespresso also aims to make farming attractive to the generations to come.

Nespresso and Fairtrade International began collaborating back in 2013. Together, we work with two Fairtrade coffee cooperatives – one in Colombia and one in Indonesia – to improve the social infrastructure in their communities and offer technical training for smallholder farmers on how to improve coffee quality.

Nespresso now has two Fairtrade coffees for different types of Nespresso machines in its permanent range: Master Origin Indonesia and Master Origin Colombia.

Our long-standing partnership fosters the mutual exchange of expertise – with Fairtrade International being a member of the Nespresso Sustainability Advisory Board, which brings together experts and thought leaders in sustainability – NGOs, academics, international organisations - to channel external advice on the role that private sector organisations can play in addressing societal challenges.

An opportunity for change

What are the challenges Nespresso and Fairtrade aim to tackle together? Many of the world’s small-scale farmers live close to the poverty line and simply cannot afford to retire. This means they work until old age instead of passing their farms on to the younger generations, who often leave the countryside in search of employment in the cities.

To address this issue, in 2014 Nespresso and Fairtrade International partnered with the Aguadas Coffee Growers Cooperative and the Colombian Ministry of Labour to develop a pioneering retirement savings scheme specifically designed for smallholder coffee farmers in the Caldas region of Colombia. As an incentive for coffee producers to save a minimum amount per year, the Colombian government matches 20 percent of their investments.

“We wanted to find out what the farmers wanted and needed most,” says Jérôme Pérez, Head of Sustainability at Nespresso. "With the Colombian government, we support providing basic healthcare to farmers." The Caldas farming community then told Nespresso they wanted access to a retirement savings plan. “So, that’s what we set out to do, to help safeguard their futures and encourage young people to stay and produce coffee.”

For Delio Gonzalez, a coffee farmer participating in the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality Program, “it gives us hope to be able to reach our retirement age; we can rest and enjoy our old age quietly.” 

To replicate the success in Colombia, a similar pension scheme was established in Aceh, Indonesia, where farmers also often lack access to retirement savings. Nespresso and Fairtrade International partnered with Bank Syariah Indonesian, Root Capital, coffee sourcing partner OLAM, and local Fairtrade-certified coffee cooperatives to create the SIMPONI pension fund programme (known today as TAPENAS).

In 2024, more than 41,700 farmers in Nespresso supply chains had access to financial resilience programmes, such as retirement savings plan, climate crop insurance, or village savings and loan associations.