Nespresso joins B-Corp community
3 May 2022 at 4:27 pm
The pod coffee company was recognised for its environmental efforts in particular.
Nespresso is the latest organisation to achieve B Corp certification, joining a collection of 4,500 businesses around the world that are recognised for their high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
The coffee giant announced its certification on 26 April and said in a statement that it was “a marker for the positive impact Nespresso has made in the coffee industry and beyond” since the company was founded in 1986. Nespresso, which operates in 81 countries and has over 13,000 employees, is one of the largest companies to certify around the world.
In a LinkedIn post, B Lab Europe said Nespresso had been working for three years towards achieving certification and said bringing multinationals like Nespresso into the B Corp fold was key to bringing about systemic change.
“It acts as a beacon for other large organisations to begin their path towards better business, thereby helping not only transform individual companies but entire industries,” the post read.
According to Nespresso, some of the key reasons why it achieved certification include its approach to coffee sourcing through its AAA Sustainable Quality Program, its strategic alliance with Fairtrade, and its global coffee pod recycling scheme.
The AAA Sustainable Quality Program is a partnership with Rainforest Alliance and sees Nespresso work with more than 120,000 farmers in 15 countries to embed sustainability on farms and in the nearby environment. The program has increased yields and improved the livelihoods of the farmers and communities involved.
Overall, Nespresso achieved a global B Corp score of 84.3. It scored particularly highly on environmental factors and customer stewardship.
Nespresso CEO Guillaume Le Cunff said the company was proud to join the growing B Corp community “of like minds who share our belief that profit and purpose go hand-in-hand”.
“Most importantly, B Corp certification inspires us to do more. It strengthens our commitment to our vision that every cup of Nespresso coffee has a positive impact on the world,” Le Cunff said.
B Lab Switzerland founder Jonathan Normand congratulated Nespresso on the certification, and said he hoped it would have a flow-on effect amongst Nespresso’s value chain, encouraging them to also join the B Corp movement.
“As a movement designed for system change, we are happy to support them on their path to accelerate and foster an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy,” he added.
