Major Traders Agree on Two ‘Principles of Procurement’ to Improve Coffee Sector Sustainability

Daily Coffee News photo by Nick Brown.

A group of 14 major coffee traders and roasters has agreed on two shared green coffee buying principles intended to improve the long-term economic viability of coffee farmers.

Three sustainability-focused organizations — the Global Coffee Platform (GCP), IDH and Solidaridad — published “Identifying Common Procurement Principles Specific to Coffee” on March 31 following a nine-month collaboration with the 14 private-sector companies. 

The companies involved in the process were Caravela, Ecom, Export Trading Company, Illycaffè, JDE Peet’s, Louis Dreyfus Company, Neumann Kaffee Gruppe, Ofi, Sucafina, Sucden Coffee, Taylors of Harrogate, Touton, UCC and Volcafe.

A Documented Value Distribution Problem

The process followed a 2024 publication called “The Grounds for Sharing,” which found that despite sufficient value in the coffee sector overall, current distribution heavily favors roasters and direct-to-consumer sellers, with farmers often earning too little to achieve living incomes or invest in sustainable production. 

That study also flagged a key accounting blind spot, suggesting many small farms do not factor family labor into their economic models.

In the new publication, the participating companies identified two procurement principles as both high-impact and practically achievable.

The first, “Strategic Partnerships,” calls for a shift from short-term transactional sourcing toward longer-term, trust-based collaborations — allowing farmers to plan ahead, manage risks and invest in their operations.

The second, “Sustainable Coffee Production,” aims to ensure that farmers are not only expected to meet sustainability requirements but are also supported in doing so through adequate pricing, technical assistance and access to finance.

“These common procurement principles represent an important step towards aligning how the coffee sector creates and shares value,” Mette-Marie Hansen of IDH said in an announcement of the publication. “By moving beyond short-term transactions and embedding longer-term partnerships and sustainable production conditions, companies can contribute to more resilient supply chains and improved economic viability for farmers.”

Corporate Sustainability Initiatives vs. Procurement Practices

The report arrives amid an evolving conversation in corporate sustainability about how buying practices translate — or fail to translate — into farm-level sustainability.

A February 2026 report from the civil-society coalition VOCAL Coffee Alliance, involving producer consultations in eight coffee-origin countries, argued that project-based sustainability initiatives have done little to shift value chain imbalances, and that living income and risk-sharing need to be embedded directly into buying operations.

Roughly 12.5 million smallholder farmers produce approximately 80% of the world’s coffee while capturing the least value and absorbing the greatest risks, according to figures cited in that report.

GCP’s annual Sustainable Coffee Purchases report has shown steady growth in green coffee bought through various sustainability schemes among a cohort of major buyers. In 2024, 11 reporting roasters and retailers said approximately 75% of their reported green coffee purchases met that baseline, up from 55% in 2021.

Whether those purchasing volumes translate into measurable farm-level impact is a separate question.

“Ensuring the long-term economic viability of sustainable coffee farming, and overall farmer prosperity is essential for a resilient supply and a competitive coffee sector,” GCP Executive Director Annette Pensel said in an announcement of the new report. “This requires shared responsibility and a more coordinated approach across the industry.”

Comments? Questions? News to share? Contact DCN’s editors here. For all the latest coffee industry news, subscribe to the DCN newsletter.