KLM has commited to serving sustainable coffee from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms on all its flights.

The KLM commitment means some 25 million cups of coffee from farms certified to the Rainforest Alliance sustainable farming standards will be served annually.

Unlike most other airlines KLM still serves coffee made from freshly ground beans.  At least 30% of the beans brewed for KLM passengers are grown on coffee farms in Brazil certified by the Rainforest Alliance. The fresh roasted coffee is being supplied by Drie Mollen2, one of Europe’s largest coffee roasters.

Executive Director of the Rainforest Alliance Tensie Whelan says: “KLM’s commitment is really helping sustainable coffee to take off. More than 22 million travellers a year will be able to enjoy a cup of certified sustainable coffee making a positive and lasting impact on farmers, farm workers and the environment in Brazil.”

Meeting the Rainforest Alliance standards means that coffee farmers work to grow their crops more efficiently, improving their quality of life, their income and minismising the impact on the environment. On farms certified by the Rainforest Alliance, forests and wildlife are conserved, and farm workers are treated with respect and have access to clean water, medical care and education for them and their families. In many cases farmers can command a higher price in the market.

The farms in Brazil providing the rich brew that KLM passengers will enjoy are in the South American nation’s spectacular cerrado, a vast savanna dotted with scattered trees.  The cerrado is a fast disappearing ecosystem, so it’s vital that the people living there earn their livlihoods in a way that’s gentle on the land.  Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee farms in Brazil are carefully audited3 to ensure that while they provide good incomes to local people, they have minimum impact on the cerrado.

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