Coffee is one of the most widely traded commodities in the world — yet its production is too often linked with poverty, exploitation, and environmental destruction. The 2025 Coffee Scorecard, modelled after the Chocolate Scorecard, will help consumers choose better coffee - better for people and planet.
Where We Focus
The Scorecard evaluates companies on eight key areas:
- Traceability & Transparency – If you can’t see it, you can’t fix it. Traceability and transparency are essential for addressing many issues in the coffee industry.
- Gender – Empowering women is vital for a sustainable coffee sector.
- Human Rights – Poverty creates a cycle of exploitation, leading to the use of child labor and forced labor.
- Living Income – While coffee companies enjoy significant profits, many farmers and farm workers live in extreme poverty.
- Deforestation & Climate – Coffee agriculture is the sixth largest driver of deforestation globally.
- Support for Regulation – Do companies support stronger laws for corporate accountability?
- Agroforestry – Coffee grown using agroforestry methods could capture 2x the carbon and support 19x the biodiversity. Agroforestry is a lifeline for a sustainable coffee industry.
- Chemical Use & Pesticides - Pesticide use in coffee growing remains alarmingly high, posing significant health risks to both children and adults in coffee-growing communities.
About the Research
The Coffee Scorecard is led by researchers at Macquarie University and supported by researchers and experts from:
- Macquarie Business School (Australia);
- The Open University (UK);
- Nyenrode Business University (The Netherlands); and,
- Subject-matter experts employed by or volunteering at Coffee Watch.
All supporting researchers are subject to approval by the Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee, which also oversees any changes to the research team.
How the Study Works
The survey asks participating companies to identify and provide publicly available information on sustainability in their coffee supply chains, focusing on human rights, traceability, transparency, and environmental policies.
When to Expect Results
The full Coffee Scorecard will be published by the end of 2025. Stay tuned!