The main coffee cultivation areas are in South and Central America, as well as the tropical regions of Africa and Asia. The largest coffee-producing countries globally are Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, Ethiopia, India, and Honduras. Meira sources coffee from 10-15 different origins every year, from South and Central America to Asia. Honduras and Brazil have been the primary sources for Meira’s annual coffee procurement, accounting for over 70% of it. Additionally, coffee is procured from example Kenya, Tanzania and Vietnam.
The majority of coffee’s climate impact arises from its cultivation in the countries of its origin. A typical feature of coffee cultivation in its most origins is family farms, where the flow of coffee beans to Finland effects thousands of families. Coffee significantly impacts the livelihoods and well-being of these family farms thus ensuring sustainability, both for the people and the environment, at the origin of coffee is crucial for Meira.
We ensure the sustainability of our coffee by purchasing only third-party certified (Rainforest Alliance, including the integrated UTZ or Fair Trade) green coffee. These non-profit certification systems have clear requirements for sustainable farming and business practices concerning environmental and social responsibility, and good governance. Collaboration is undertaken to protect forests, improve farmers’ livelihoods, promote human rights, and mitigate and adapt to climate change. Fair working conditions and activities supporting biodiversity are central requirements for certification.
Meira initiated its commitment to certified products in the 2010s and established a systematic roadmap for certification in 2017. In response to customer demands, we already achieved full certification for all green coffee used in Food Service products for restaurants and large kitchens in 2019. The progress continued systematically in retail, with products receiving annual supplementation with UTZ or RFA certification. Since 2018, all our new products that have been launched, are responsibly certified.
The unfortunate fire incident at the Vallila factory in 2021 posed a significant setback and widespread impacts on Meira’s operations. Nevertheless, our focuse towards sustainability has persisted. By the end of 2023, we reached a great milestone in our Sustainability Program for Sustainable Products— 100% of our sourced green coffee is third-party certified. To accommodate sudden availability variations, the certification allows a 90% minimum level for certified raw coffee, providing Meira with 10% flexibility to procure uncertified coffee in exceptional situations. It’s important to note that Meira is committed to utilizing this flexibility only in temporary exceptional circumstances when certified coffee is unavailable in the market. Our overarching objective is to consistently maintain the procurement of certified raw coffee at the full 100% level.
In addition to certification, we continue to invest in the long-term relationships within our supply chain to ensure high coffee quality, provide support for farmers’ well-being, and collaboratively develop sustainable farming practices further. As per our sustainability program’s goal, we actively support our suppliers in setting science-based emission reduction targets. Learn more about our science-based sustainability goals and development until end of 2022.
