HONOREE SIZE & INDUSTRY: Mid-Size  – Food, Beverage, and Grocery

Texan by Nature is excited to recognize Farmer Brothers in the 2020 TxN 20. Farmer Brothers was also recognized in the 2019 TxN 20 for their efforts in conservation and sustainability that positively impact Texas’ communities, economic prosperity, and natural resources. Read their 2019 write-up. 

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Farmer Brothers (Farmer Bros. Co) is an American coffee roaster, wholesaler, and distributor of coffee, tea, and culinary products to the foodservice industry, based in Northlake, Texas. The Company’s product lines include organic, Direct Trade, and sustainably-produced coffees and teas. From their start in 1912, when a young man named Roy E. Farmer decided to open his own coffee business to now, the company serves 60,000+ food and beverage establishments across the U.S. from over 100 Farmer Brothers branches nationwide. Through Farmer Brothers’ sustainability, stewardship, and environmental efforts, and leadership they commit to serving the finest products available while insisting on sustainable cultivation, manufacturing, and distribution whenever possible.

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS STRATEGY

As Farmer Brothers works toward improving sustainability within their SEED (social, environmental, and economic development) framework, climate change is a central issue within each pillar of the framework. It has the potential to impact all of their products and services; none more so than in the production of their central offering: coffee. Coffee plants are highly sensitive to ambient temperature, and as the climate warms, many traditional coffee-growing regions may prove unable to sustain a coffee crop due to changes in temperature or rainfall. For mountain-growing regions, land suitable for coffee growing may disappear as higher temperatures force cultivation to move higher up mountains, where land is less plentiful. In addition to the direct effects on Farmer Brothers’ supply chain, they also believe climate change is one of the most pressing environmental issues of the coming century. That’s why they’re committed to delivering great products to their customers with fewer greenhouse gasses emitted along the way. FBC believes that the demand for environmentally friendly manufactured products is a business differentiator for them, but they also think it is worth doing because it’s the right thing to do.

Holding themselves accountable has always been the driving force behind sustainability at Farmer Brothers. For the company, it starts with setting big, ambitious goals and evaluating their progress year over year. This year, FBC took measures to reflect on their progress in order to identify where to go next and how to get there. What this introspection has revealed is that when an initiative was missing the mark, the company has been able to pivot. When programs and practices begin to gain momentum, Farmer Brothers has pushed harder and dug deeper. Sometimes accountability means being more aggressive than they initially planned – for example, their reduction targets around global warming are one of those instances. 

In 2018, FBC reset their carbon emissions reduction targets from a 2°C warming scenario down to a 1.5-degree warming scenario by 2025 to better align with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommendations. In a bold move for their industry, Farmer Brothers reset their reduction targets to not only stay ahead of Greenhouse Gas policies and regulations but also to lead the charge on real climate action.

EMPLOYEE LEADERSHIP

Daniel Cifuentes has been with Farmer Brothers since 2016 and has been crucial in developing direct trade verified sustainable programs and growing the overall portfolio of responsibly sourced coffees. He has been involved in the coffee industry since 2011 working with coffee producers and organizations in his home country of Colombia.

Roasting coffee is a complex business, with hundreds of individuals involved in the entire process that brings a finished cup to the table. In addition to sourcing and roasting, it is important that Farmer Brothers’ ensures their actions, from farm to cup. As their Sr. Manager Sustainability, Daniel works closely with coffee farmers at origin and across the Farmer Brothers organization to ensure all roasting plants, distribution centers, and branch offices are committed to strategically managing the company’s environmental impact.

Learn more about FBC’s relationship with coffee from part 1 and part 2 of an interview with Molly Laverty, former Director of Sustainability for Farmer Brothers.

CONSERVATION PROGRAMS

Transportation Efficiency 

Farmer Brothers’ gains in transportation efficiency over the years illustrate impressive sets of data they’re proud to report. In 2019, by heavily implementing route optimization, FBC experienced a 9.3% reduction in fuel consumption. That’s a 3.5% improvement over the previous year — Farmer Brothers will continue to push the envelope on these efficiency metrics. To reach their goal of a more efficient fleet, the first step was to reduce their on-road miles with a move to Texas. In 2016, Farmer Brothers switched from their own long-haul fleet to a 3PL partner that specializes in intermodal transport. Now, instead of being limited to a trucking fleet, products can be shipped using much less carbon-intensive modes like rail and water, saving fuel. Additionally, FBC has invested in technologies like telematics to determine the most cost-effective transportation routes, all of which has resulted in: 

• 3% of traditional shipments have been moved to rail
• 114 tonnes CO2 diverted from July 2019–Sept 2019
• 1 gallon of fuel saved reduces CO2 emissions by 20 pounds
• 40 fewer trucks purchased
• 48% decrease in fuel consumption since 2014
• 400 gallons fuel reduction by using biodiesel trucks
• Over 25k miles traveled using alternative fuel

Zero-Waste

All three of Farmer Brothers’ roasting facilities and their distribution centers are proudly zero-waste facilities, diverting over 90% of waste from the landfill. Overall, their company diverts 74% of waste away from the landfill, while also working to reduce the total pounds of waste they generate, saving the company money and reducing the resources they consume in their business. In 2018, FBC met their zero-waste goal of 90% diversion for their roasting facilities. The company has a dedicated team that pushes forward their zero-waste supply chain goals through extending the life of their coffee brewing equipment. The team uses advanced techniques to restore brewers to new or better-than-new condition, keeping materials out of landfills and supporting a circular economy. Through this process, 6.5K pieces of equipment waste weighing 527 K pounds is diverted from landfills.

Sustainable Sourcing & Working with Coffee Growers

Sourcing sustainable coffee has been a goal of Farmer Brothers since 2015 when they set an ambitious target with the Sustainable Coffee Challenge. While 100% sustainably sourced is a lofty, long-term goal, laying the groundwork now will make it possible for the company in the future. It means sourcing their coffee from growers who are treated well, respect the environment, and support coffee-growing communities. To date:

• 27% of all coffee is sustainably sourced
• 100% of FBC’s Artisan Collection coffees are sustainably sourced
• Since 2017, sales of FBC’s sustainable Artisan Collection of coffees have increased by 31%

Since 2009, the Farmer Brothers team has been working with coffee growers at origin to increase their capacities and positively impact their communities. FBC does this by providing educational opportunities, community investment, and technical training for initiatives such as planting food gardens, conducting soil analysis, building pulp pits for composting, and installing cherry hoppers to conserve water.

In Columbia:

• 32% of producers no longer purchase vegetables and food staples because they now grow their own, representing a 21.8% increase in farms with food production from 2016 to 2019
• 273 Valle del Cauca producers performed soil analyses
• 67% of Valle del Cauca region producers have an established renovation program on their farms
• 83% of farms in Antioquia have built a pulp pit (to compost coffee pulp), compared to 52% measured in 2013 during the baseline study
• $145K paid as cash premium directly to producers in 2018
• 68,701 cubic meters of overall water reduction equivalent of 22 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water in Antioquia and 5 Olympic-sized pools of water in Valle del Cauca.

 BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Farmer Brothers’ commitment to sustainability means they’ll never stop asking the hard questions, such as “How do we keep farming families from going hungry?” and “How can coffee adapt to a changing climate?” Finding the answers requires FBC to put in the work toward sourcing coffee responsibly, supporting communities, caring for their farming partners, reducing energy and water usage, and reducing their waste. With every milestone Farmer Brothers achieves, they have a new, more ambitious goal for the future. And with each step in their journey, they’ll continue taking measures to challenge themselves and the entire industry to do business in better ways.

TEXAN-LED CONSERVATION

With a 100+ year legacy of doing business in California, Farmer Brothers’ decision to relocate their corporate headquarters to Texas was not an easy one, but it was the right one. It’s a choice that has positively impacted the environment, their communities, and their economic prosperity. Moving the central freight of production to a geographically centralized location gave Farmer Brothers the opportunity to streamline their supply chain, consolidating what was an Oklahoma warehouse facility with their new headquarters facility, reducing duplication. This headquarters transition resulted in a 37% reduction of total on-road fuel gallons in 2019 from a 2014 baseline.

Learn more about Farmers Brothers’ sustainability efforts.