Earth Month is Every Month

Hi Peetniks,

I wanted to take a moment to highlight a few of the Peet’s efforts at origin to be good stewards of the environment and supporters of the communities we rely on for our coffee.

First, some context. You may already know that when coffee grows among trees in a forest setting, it promotes the slow maturation of the coffee fruit, leading to superior cup quality. But the benefits don’t stop there; coffee cultivated this way also provides critical habitat for other flora and fauna, and those shade trees capture carbon emissions (which helps mitigate climate change). Nice, right?

These are the objectives behind Bird-Friendly® certification, a program managed by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC). A favorite at Peet’s, Yosemite Dos Sierras Organic, is a Bird-Friendly® coffee, but not just because birds are beautiful and plentiful to spot in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada, where this coffee is grown. Birds are sentinel species, so when you brew this coffee it’s a way to support the quality of agroecosystems overall.

Another way we’re supporting the health and well-being of the environment is through sourcing and roasting Organic coffees. Growing coffee according to Organic requirements is tough work for farmers; it requires extra time, attention, and resources. However, Organic certification’s emphasis on soil and water quality, and conservation of biodiversity, yield important environmental benefits for farmers’ local communities and beyond. Our Gaia Organic blend highlights the investment our producer partners make in the health of our planet when they commit to Organic cultivation.

Our producer partners are hard-working individuals, devoted to high-quality coffee production. Yet it feels like this commitment is tested more intensely by mother nature each year. An increase in disease and pest infestations, erratic and uneven rainfall, and higher temperatures are stressful to both farmers and coffee trees. This was a major driver behind our recent decision to team up with the Hanns R. Neumann Foundation and offer young coffee farmers in Honduras training in a specialized set of agronomy practices that are needed to adapt coffee production to the challenges posed by a changing climate. This matters because coffee trees that can hold up to climate change will help ensure sufficient crop yields, which helps put money in the pockets of farmers. There’s more detail about our work with farmers here, if you’d like to learn more.

Another earth-loving venture for us here at Peet’s is our groundbreaking new coffee subscription: the Carbon Neutral Series, which plants carbon-offsetting mangrove trees for each monthly delivery of delicious, fresh coffee. The average person will neutralize their own carbon output each year they subscribe. We’re incredibly proud and grateful to be able to offer this series. 

While I’m reminded regularly how much we still need to do in order for the earth and our human family to thrive, I’m also reminded how much we are doing. I hope this inspires and motivates you to keep on fighting for the place we all call home. We’ll certainly keep at it—you can learn more about our ongoing efforts here.

-Matt Broscio
Social Responsibility Manager, Peet’s Coffee Department