Goodbye, Certification: How Tchibo is working with coffee farmers to make the market more climate resilient

Tchibo is working with coffee farmers in its supply chain to improve climate resilience. Even if this approach is much more resource-intensive than sourcing coffee that is already certified as sustainable.

As one of Europe’s largest coffee roasters, Tchibo has a vested interest in ensuring the future of coffee production. Yet climate change and soil degradation could reduce global coffee-growing areas by as much as 50% by 2050. 

Coffee is the economic foundation of Tchibo. Yet it is precisely this raw material that is under pressure: climate change, deforestation, and extreme weather are threatening growing conditions in many producing countries. This is where sustainability labels come in. They create transparency for consumers and boost demand for sustainable coffee. For many producers, however, certification is out of reach. 70% of the world’s approximately 12.5 million coffee farmers cultivate micro-farms of less than one hectare. They often live on incomes below the poverty line. They lack the money and the know-how to meet the requirements for labels. As a result, large quantities of coffee remain uncertified – often in areas where environmental risks are highest. According to the German Coffee Association, approximately 80% of the coffee purchased in Germany in 2024 was not certified as sustainable.

In 2023, Tchibo launched its own coffee program in collaboration with Enveritas, a nonprofit organization specializing in satellite- and AI-based landscape analysis. Goal: To source all coffee through “responsible purchasing” by 2027 and to drive sustainable transformation where certifications do not apply.

Supply chain data helps identify the biggest environmental risks for climate resilience

Enveritas analyzes coffee plantations in all major coffee-growing countries worldwide. They provide Tchibo with a report and auditable data on sustainability dimensions (e.g. child labor, soil quality, pesticide use) in Tchibo’s growing regions. Tchibo uses sustainability reporting to gain transparency into internal processes and to set goals based on reliable data. This allows the company to identify key areas of action for its coffee program, addressing sustainability risks at their source: the supply chain.

Tchibo’s coffee programm trains smallholder coffee farmers

Tchibo develops measures for the key sustainability risks identified in the report that are tailored to the local challenges. In Brazil, they focus on biodiversity, climate, and water, in Honduras on poverty reduction. Coffee farmers receive training on fertilizer use, soil management, climate resilience, and ways to increase productivity and quality.

Read the full case study on how Tchibo works with smallholder farmers in their supply chain here:

Find more examples of how sustainability reporting can become a business case in our resource library.