VOCAL Report Challenges Coffee Industry's Sustainability Status Quo
A coalition of eight civil society organizations just published a report that pulls no punches: the coffee industry’s approach to sustainability isn’t working for the people who actually grow the coffee.
The report, titled “Percolating Responsible Procurement: Coffee Producer Perspectives,” comes from the VOCAL Coffee Alliance—a group that includes Coffee Watch, Fern, INKOTA Netzwerk, Oxfam Belgium, Public Eye, Rikolto, WWF Switzerland, and Fairfood. Author Ashlee Tuttleman led consultations across eight origin countries from June through December 2025, speaking with farmers in Brazil, Nicaragua, Honduras, Uganda, Indonesia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Sri Lanka.
The Numbers Tell a Familiar Story
The math hasn’t changed: approximately 12.5 million smallholder farmers produce around 80% of the world’s coffee, yet they capture the smallest share of value in the supply chain while absorbing the greatest risks with the fewest resources.
What’s different about this report is how directly it targets the gap between corporate sustainability marketing and actual procurement behavior.
”Sustainability Silos” Under Fire
The report describes current corporate approaches as “sustainability silos”—well-funded programs that exist apart from how companies actually buy coffee. According to the findings, “many if not most of these ‘sustainability’ projects remain disassociated from companies’ core procurement strategies.”
The critique sharpens further: “prices do not factor into the project design, despite the fact that price is the single variable impacting farmer income that is in the direct control of companies.”
In other words, roasters and retailers launch initiatives about climate resilience, water stewardship, or women’s empowerment—but don’t touch their pricing structures.
What the Alliance Wants
The report calls for three specific changes to core procurement practices:
- Living income pricing — paying enough for farmers to meet basic needs and invest in their operations
- Timely payments — getting money to farmers when they need it, not months after harvest
- Risk-sharing — spreading the burden of price volatility, climate events, and market fluctuations
These aren’t add-on programs. The Alliance wants them baked into how every contract gets written and every lot gets priced.
Why This Matters
The timing is significant. Coffee prices have swung wildly over the past year, and climate pressures continue to squeeze producing regions. Meanwhile, the specialty coffee industry has grown increasingly comfortable talking about sustainability as a marketing differentiator.
This report essentially asks: if sustainability only lives in a separate department with a separate budget, disconnected from the people who negotiate prices and sign contracts—is it really sustainability at all?
The answer from eight origin countries, filtered through eight NGOs, is clear: not even close.