A Tchibo coffee farm in Vietnam | Photo credit: Tchibo

Tchibo has launched a new coffee sustainability programme with a pledge to source 100% of its coffee ‘responsibly’ by 2027. 
 

As part of the pledge, sustainability auditor Enveritas will conduct an annual independent assessment of Tchibo’s supply chain to measure progress on environmental, economic and social KPIs and develop sustainability programmes tailored to individual coffee producing countries. 

Tchibo sources its coffee from approximately 75,000 small farmers across Guatemala, Honduras, Vietnam and Brazil, but reports just 20% is currently Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance or USDA Organic Seal certified.  

The Hamburg-based coffee roaster said the new initiative will enable it to reach farmers ‘beyond certified premium coffees’ on initiatives including agroforestry, reforestation and planting new coffee climate resilient coffee varieties. 

“The coffee industry needs to change significantly so that our favourite drink has a future. As a company, we must take responsibility more consistently. For each of our coffees we need to know where it comes from and under what conditions it is produced,” said Pablo von Wanderfels, Director of Corporate Responsibility, Tchibo. 

Tchibo is one of Europe’s largest coffee groups, operating in more than 60 countries with a portfolio of packaged coffee brands including Davidoff Café, Smokin’ Bean, Piacetto and Caffè Molinari.  

It also operates a vast wholesale business alongside 550 branded coffee shops across Germany and a further 320 across Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland and Turkey. 

New York-based Enveritas works with a growing number of prominent coffee brands and has verified sustainable practices at more than 200,000 coffee farms globally to-date against its set of sustainability standards. 

In 2021 JDE Peet’s subsidiary Peet’s Coffee announced it had reached 100% responsibly sourced coffee through its partnership with Enveritas. In May 2022, JDE Peet’s announced it would extend the reach of the partnership across its broader coffee supply chain, allowing the JAB Holding-backed company to reach its ambition of 100% responsibly sourced coffee by 2025. 

In February 2024, the Amsterdam-based coffee group said it would work with Enveritas this year to conduct deforestation assessments with coffee producers in Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania and Uganda to ensure its supply chain complies with EU deforestation rules. 
 

Enveritas also works with Blue Bottle Coffee, Counter Culture, Dunkin’, Espresso House, Origin Coffee and Tim Hortons.