SPAR’s Sustainably Sourced Coffee

06 June 2021


SPAR’s Beantree Café procures coffee products that have internationally recognised certifications such as Rainforest Alliance Certification, UTZ Certification and Fairtrade Certification.


By using certified coffee, SPAR is driving sustainable consumption and is promoting sustainable coffee farming. Sustainable coffee farming drives resource efficiency around water, energy, fertilisers and pesticides, which is in line with SPAR’s sustainability commitment to responsible living and resource stewardship. SPAR sources coffee products from countries located in Africa, South America and Asia.

SPAR house brand coffee originates from the Cerrado region (Brazil), Sidamo region (Ethiopia), North Tanzania, Supremo Huila (Colombia), Huehuetenango (Guatemala) and Mandeling (Indonesia).

Espresso beans and coffee capsules procured for Beantree Café are sourced from various regions across the world, including Central America (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica), South America (Brazil, Colombia, Peru), Africa (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia) and Asia (India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea).

Coffee is a commodity that is at risk from global temperature increases caused by climate change, as the quantity and quality of coffee beans are negatively impacted. Certain regions where SPAR sources coffee from might not be viable for the growth of coffee beans in the long term.


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More About Rainforest Alliance Certification

 
Products with the Rainforest Alliance Certified™ seal are grown and harvested on farms and forests that follow sustainable practices. The Rainforest Alliance seal promotes collective action for people and nature. It amplifies and reinforces the beneficial impacts of responsible choices, from farms and forests all the way to the supermarket check-out. The seal allows you to recognize and choose products that contribute toward a better future for people and planet.


The Rainforest Alliance seal means that the certified product or ingredient was produced using methods that support the three pillars of sustainability:
 

Social

 
Certification advances the rights of rural people. Although no certification program can provide a guarantee against human rights abuses, the Rainforest Alliance's standard and assurance systems provide robust strategies for assessing and addressing child labour, forced labour, poor working conditions, low wages, gender inequality, and the violation of Indigenous land rights. Independent studies demonstrate that workers on certified farms are more likely to have better working conditions, personal protective gear, and labour protections.
 

Economic
 

Ecosystem health and the economic stability of rural communities are mutually dependent. Improving sustainable livelihood opportunities for smallholder farmers and forest communities is the most effective way to lift rural people out of poverty, and certification has proven to bring measurable financial benefits to farmers and forest communities around the world.
 

Environmental

 
The certification promotes best practices for protecting standing forests, preventing the expansion of cropland into forests; fostering the health of trees, soils, and waterways; and protecting native forests.
Standing forests are a powerful natural climate solution. The Rainforest Alliance certification programs promote responsible land management methods that increase carbon storage while avoiding deforestation, which fuels greenhouse gas emissions. The climate-smart practices embedded in our agricultural training and certification programs help farmers to build resilience to droughts, flooding, and erosion.