Promoting Sustainable Coffee Culture

Slow Food and Lavazza Foundation are working to raise awareness about the importance of quality coffee, the preservation of traditional coffee-growing techniques, and the empowerment of coffee farming communities. 

Together, they work toward creating a more sustainable and equitable coffee industry, where the rich, earthy flavors of coffee go hand in hand with social and environmental responsibility.

Since partnering with Slow Food in the 1990s, Lavazza has undertaken a range of initiatives to promote sustainable and socially responsible coffee.

The most significant step forward came in 2021 when Lavazza and Slow Food launched the Slow Food Coffee Coalition. The Coalition brings together all stakeholders in the coffee supply chain—from cultivators and roasters to distributors and consumers—who share a common passion for coffee and a vision for ethical, clean, and fair coffee accessible to everyone.

The project has proven successful from the start. Within 18 months of its foundation, the Coalition had already announced its first six pilot coffees. And the number of Slow Food Communities involved in the Coalition continues to grow (with more than 30 across 9 countries).

Thanks to the support of Lavazza and other partners, the Coalition initiated a certification process for good, clean and fair coffee, Participatory Guarantee System (PGS). 

This mechanism allows different members of the community to evaluate the fruit of their labor. It is not self-certification, but a trust-based shared evaluation process based on previously established standards and procedures which unites producers and other stakeholders.