The year 2023 was a year of persistent sustainability work and implementation. We progressed in our goals by, among other things, increasing the certification rate of our purchased coffee to 100% and thoroughly examining the origins of our spices to ensure more transparent and verified sources. The development work to increase the recyclability of packaging materials, as well as the production trials of these materials, were able to fully resume after the exceptional year of 2022.
All Coffee Purchased by Meira is Responsibly Certified
In November 2023, Meira reached a significant milestone. 100% of the raw coffee we purchase is certified as responsible by third parties, either Rainforest Alliance (RFA) or Fair Trade coffee. Ensuring the responsibility of coffee is a key priority for Meira. Knowing the origins of the coffee and ensuring transparency throughout the supply chain is crucial for both quality and responsible sourcing. Meira’s sustainable choices and responsibility efforts have a real impact, as Meira purchases 13-15 million kilos of raw coffee from around the world annually. Our main source countries are Brazil and Honduras. We regularly meet with representatives of our procurement companies and visit the source countries. Most recently, we visited Brazil in May 2023, our first visit since the pandemic. During the trip, we visited coffee farms that supply us, gaining a good understanding of the current situation and development compared to previous years. A key part of these visits involved discussing sustainable farming development measures, deforestation regulations, and cooperation on climate projects.
In addition to certification, we collaborate with our value chain on climate projects. Research shows that most greenhouse gas emissions related to coffee cultivation arise from the production and use of fertilizers. We are currently planning a project for 2025-2026 in Honduras to support our partner in production and evaluating the use of organic fertilizers through pilot trials.
“The majority of the climate impact of coffee comes from its cultivation in the origin countries. Therefore, responsibility – ensuring the well-being of people and the environment – at the source of coffee is of utmost importance to Meira. We continuously develop our cooperation with value chain actors and support and verify their work with third-party certifications.” Says Aija Pohjanen, Head of the Procurement Team.
Continuous Efforts to Increase the Certification Rate of Our Spices
We annually purchase about 150 different raw materials from around 40 countries. Verifying sustainability is a central part of our work in the procurement chain. We continuously seek solutions to ensure a transparent and sustainable origin. Meira’s goal is that by 2030, all spices now coming from high-risk areas will be sourced either from low-risk countries or responsibly verified sources. In 2023, 73% of our spice raw materials came from either responsibly verified or low-risk origins (based on BSCI classification). We are systematically increasing this proportion; our goal for this year is 80%, 90% by 2026, and 100% by 2030.
As part of this work, we reviewed the origin options for cinnamon during 2022-2023 and, at the beginning of 2024, changed the origin country of our cinnamon from Indonesia to Vietnam, covering about 50% of our annual procurement volume. Cinnamon is globally a high-risk raw material with social and environmental challenges. The cinnamon we source from Vietnam is verified as responsible by a third party, UEBT/RA, and its production chain is transparently verified. We also conducted a risk assessment for paprika procurement, resulting in diversifying the raw material sourcing to multiple origins. We continue to improve the verification rate for paprika and actively seek new suitable origin options.
We Will Continue Relentless Development Towards Achieving Our Sustainability Goals
In addition to raw materials, developing the recyclability of packaging plays a significant role in our sustainability efforts. Our goal is that by 2030, all Meira’s packaging will be made from recyclable, recycled, or renewable materials. Currently, 42% of our packaging meets these criteria based on sales volume. Our packaging can already be sorted into glass, cardboard, metal, or plastic recycling, but many packages still contain aluminum or multi-layer plastics, making their recycling for reuse difficult.
For coffee packaging, our development work focuses on testing single-layer materials. Single-layer materials can be recycled for reuse, thus fulfilling the principles of circular economy. Product development in this area is very challenging, and there is still work to be done. However, we are actively working towards our 2030 goal, taking into account upcoming sustainability regulations (such as the EU’s regulation on packaging and packaging waste, PPWR).
