SUSTAINABILITY
Ethical sourcing. Sustainable practices. Coffee with integrity.
Why is Sustainability Important?
Sustainability is a constant conversation in coffee, as coffee production globally faces many challenges including: climate change, volatile commodity prices, economic imbalance, labor shortages and demographic shifts, and new pests and diseases that threaten coffee.
The sustainability challenge for roasters is to buy coffee in a way that supports and strengthens the producers and supply chains that we’re buying from. We must be sure that our purchasing does not perpetuate economic inequity, lead to environmental degradation or support the exploitation of people. Rather, in a sustainable buying relationship our purchasing is a positive economic force that is profitable for everyone in the supply chain. Further, a sustainable relationship is economically stable enough to allow for investment in farms, families, infrastructure, and communities.
Sustainability is multifaceted, and we are concerned with the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the supply chains that we buy coffee from. Yet, the area where we can have the largest and most direct impact on sustainability as a coffee roaster is economic sustainability. The reality in coffee is that many coffee farmers are subsistence farmers. It’s very difficult to focus on environmental sustainability or local social conditions when farming is not profitable.
Ultimately, sustainability is important to us not just because it’s the right way to do things, but also because it is vital to the future success of our business. When we focus on and invest in the long-term sustainability of our coffee supply chains, we are investing in the future supply of the coffees that we need to run our business.
Our Approach to Sustainable Purchasing
Our approach to sustainable coffee sourcing at Irving Farm is:
-
Identify sustainable and transparent coffee producers or groups producing the coffee products that we use
-
Buy from the same producers as much as possible
-
Communicate with producers and visit often to assess and discuss sustainability and quality
-
Invest profits with supplier partners into funds to increase the long term sustainability of critical supply chains
Our "Direct Trade" Supply Chains
Currently, we have 9 long-term “Direct Trade” supply chains that we buy from. These are sustainability focused, financially transparent producers or groups that we have been working with for at least 3 years. In 2024, 87.9% of our total purchasing was through these supply chains.
It would be almost impossible to buy 100% of the coffee we roast through these supply chains, because we cannot perfectly project demand, and because there are persistent supply chain disruptions in coffee. When we buy outside of these supply chains, we are also buying transparently sourced coffee. Our non “Direct Trade” purchases aren’t unsustainable purchases, rather it is just coffee from suppliers that we don’t have the same long term relationships with.
Investment in our Direct Trade Suppliers
Part of our long term coffee sustainability strategy is to make direct investments in the sustainability of our critical supply chains. To do this, we measure our own profitability and create thresholds above which excess profitability is invested in sustainability. Usually, we do this by adding a differential to the price that we pay for coffee which goes into a fund that is then used for sustainability work. The work itself is always directed by the producer group or origin side supply chain partners.
Since 2019, we have been able to contribute over $70,000 that has been invested into sustainability in our Direct Trade Supply Chains. The sustainability work has funded projects including: A seedling nursery, annual contributions toward a school budget, coffee wastewater treatment systems, covered solar dryers, and emergency landslide relief for coffee producers.
Get in Touch
If you are interested in learning more about our sourcing or looking at the numbers, please get in touch. We are eager to discuss sustainability with anyone who is interested. The landscape of coffee sustainability is always changing, and we work hard to stay engaged in the conversation to continually adapt and evolve our approach to sustainable purchasing. We can be reached at coffee@irvingfarm.com.
Full Spectrum Sustainability
Irving not only takes pride in our sourcing practices, but we also hold ourselves to high standards when it comes to employee benefits and culture. We strive to ensure our employees are working in a healthy, supportive environment by providing the following:
Staff Care:
-
Health, Vision, and Dental insurance available after your initial 90 days for full time employees.
-
Pre-Tax commuter benefits
-
401k with company matching
-
Opportunity to accrue paid sick/personal leave (up to 56 hours per year)
-
Consistent professional development opportunities
-
Reimbursement for completing Food Handlers Course
-
Barista of the Month incentives
