Electric coffee roaster company Bellwether Coffee has released its 2023 impact report.
The report, titled Bellwether Coffee 2023 Impact Report, includes details on the company’s sustainability mission based on key findings, and highlights its adoption of living income pricing for coffee farmers.
“We are at the precipice of a significant movement in the coffee industry as it relates to the electrification of roasting and, as a result, sustainability practices,” says Bellwether Coffee Founder and CEO Ricardo Lopez.
“Coffee roasting accounts for 15 per cent of the coffee industry’s carbon footprint and generates 41 billion pounds of carbon every year. Our mission is to provide better access to electric coffee roasting to help the industry reduce emissions while supporting coffee retailers in their journey to differentiate and drive revenue.”
According to the report, the fleet of Bellwether roasters curbed more than 1.8 million pounds of carbon from entering the atmosphere in 2023. The Bellwether roaster was found to have reduced the carbon footprint of roasting by 87 per cent compared to traditional gas-powered roasting.
“To create a more sustainable and equitable coffee industry, we believe that roasters and retailers must pay coffee farmers prices that provide a living income. Bellwether is committed to more equitable value distribution across the coffee supply chain to ensure the industry is fair, sustainable, and profitable for all,” says Director of Sustainability and Impact at Bellwether Grayson Caldwell.
In addition to the impact of its electric roasting on sustainability, the report also emphasised the execution of its living income pricing for the Bellwether green coffee marketplace.
Despite other interventions and the implementation of certifications across the coffee industry, it highlighted that 80 per cent of the world’s 12 million coffee farmers still live below the poverty line. To combat this, Bellwether’s living income pricing methodology analyses origin-specific data on the cost of production, land size, and productivity.
The methodology sets a minimum price for green coffee to close the living income gap for producers. In 2023 Bellwether purchased 71 per cent of its coffees under living income pricing, paying 78 per cent more than the commodity price and 50 per cent more than the Fairtrade minimum price. To date, the roaster has helped reduce the carbon footprint by more than 5,798,290 pounds.
Bellwether Coffee wants to continue helping retailers transform into sustainable, on-site roasters. The company said its Bellwether Electric Roasting Platform delivers one solution for sourcing and roasting while also helping to increase the profitability of coffee businesses, and improving farmer livelihoods.
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