Starbucks, Dunkin tackle issues that could shrink coffee-growing areas, threaten growers' incomes

Major coffee companies such as Starbucks and Dunkin’ have committed to tackling climate change problems that could halve suitable coffee-growing areas within three decades.

In addition to climate threats, market volatility in recent years has affected the industry, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Consequently, trade plunged below the production cost in countries such as Guatemala and Peru. It threatened the incomes of farming communities, which are already impacted by poverty, poor health conditions, and child labor violations.

Raina Lang, senior director of sustainable coffee markets at Conservation International, noted that companies must meet their goals to secure coffee's future and the livelihood of millions of people who depend on it.

Lang added that the industry must also protect those who grow and harvest it.

In 2020, Sustainable Coffee Challenge, a Conservation International-led coalition of 160 partners, united around a 2050 goal to avoid 1.5 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions by increasing production on existing coffee lands.

According to Starbucks, it is committed to buying 100 percent ethically sourced coffee in partnership with Conservation International.

The company has invested over $100 million in supporting coffee communities.

As a founding member of the Sustainable Coffee Challenge, Starbucks is also collaborating with the industry to make coffee the first sustainable agricultural product in the world.

Meanwhile, Dunkin has partnered with the Sustainable Coffee Challenge and the World Coffee Research to improve menus in its outlets worldwide.