Mondelez International, Inc. announced an expanded effort to make its coffee business more sustainable. "Coffee Made Happy" will invest a minimum of $200 million to empower one million coffee farming entrepreneurs by 2020. The program is designed to help the next generation of farmers -- inspiring, training and building their capacity to improve their livelihoods and attract new generations back to the small-scale farming sector. The approach reflects Mondelez International's core values and builds on its previous commitment to sustainably source 100 percent of its European coffee by 2015.
"Coffee Made Happy is a bold, industry-changing move, and we think it's achievable," said Hubert Weber, president, global coffee, in a prepared statement. "This is the right thing to do for farmers, for the environment, and for our business. Together, we can help make coffee farming an attractive profession for generations to come."
Coffee Made Happy plans to increase farmer productivity and the viability of small-scale coffee farming, strengthening agricultural practices and helping to build more sustainable coffee communities. Mondelez International is already collaborating in sustainable agriculture with partners like Rainforest Alliance and the 4C Association. By continuing these relationships and fostering new collaborations, the company will boost existing commercial skills development programs in Vietnam, Peru and other important coffee markets.
Coffee Made Happy aims to drive business growth because more and more consumers are interested in where their coffee comes from, how it's grown and who is growing it.
"We believe coffee grown with joy is more of a joy to drink," says Roland Weening, vice president, marketing and sustainability, global coffee. "Coffee Made Happy will show consumers that great quality coffee can be both enjoyable and sustainable."
Coffee Made Happy is the latest in Mondelez International's plans to make its full supply chain more transparent and sustainable, from bean to cup. Over the past five years, its European plants have made impressive progress in using resources more efficiently, in addition to reusing and recycling the waste they produce. Today, all 10 of the company's European coffee plants send zero waste to landfill. And it plans to do even more by using new manufacturing technologies, recycling shipping materials and choosing more sustainable transport materials. Together with Coffee Made Happy and its existing coffee commitment, Mondelez International is in a leading position to propel the industry toward a more sustainable future.
