Dubai, September 3, 2025 (Qahwa World) – The Global Coffee Platform (GCP) has unveiled its long-anticipated RegenCoffee Guidance, a comprehensive framework designed to align the global coffee sector around regenerative agriculture. Developed over six months with input from farmers, industry leaders, NGOs, and sustainability experts, the new guidance provides a common language and clear roadmap to ensure the future resilience of coffee production.
A Sector-Wide Shift Toward Regeneration
Regenerative agriculture is increasingly recognized as an essential response to climate change, ecosystem degradation, and the economic challenges facing millions of coffee farmers. After years of volatility and pressure on farmers, the need for coordinated solutions has never been greater. Global Coffee Industry Faces Deepening Crisis as Production Struggles to Meet Surging Demand.
Unlike traditional sustainability approaches, regenerative agriculture emphasizes improving and restoring natural resources—particularly soil, water, and biodiversity—while boosting the long-term profitability of farming systems.
The RegenCoffee Guidance defines regenerative coffee farming as a holistic, outcome-focused approach. Its goal is to ensure that coffee production enhances ecosystem services, increases resilience against climate risks, and creates more stable livelihoods for farming communities.
“The threat to sustainable coffee production is real, but so is the opportunity,” said Annette Pensel, Executive Director of the Global Coffee Platform. “By embracing regenerative agriculture in partnership with coffee farmers and governments, the industry can address these challenges while building a pathway to farmer prosperity and supply resilience.”
Four Core Impact Areas
The GCP framework outlines four impact areas that serve as the foundation for regenerative coffee:
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Improved soil health – restoring fertility, organic matter, and resilience.
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Better water quality and availability – conserving and managing water resources more efficiently.
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Enhanced biodiversity with reduced pesticide risks – creating healthier ecosystems through agroforestry, shade-grown systems, and integrated pest management.
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Resilient farmer livelihoods – strengthening incomes, reducing volatility, and enabling adaptation to climate change.
These outcomes are supported by practical, farmer-centric examples such as cover cropping, intercropping, organic amendments, wastewater management, and optimized fertilization practices. Importantly, the guidance is not prescriptive; rather, it provides adaptable pathways that farmers can tailor to their specific landscapes and contexts.
Economic and Environmental Impact
According to a TechnoServe study cited in the guidance, transitioning to regenerative coffee production could deliver profound benefits across the sector. The study estimates that:
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An investment of $4 billion over seven years would be required to scale adoption.
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More than 3.2 million smallholder farmers could see income increases of up to 62%.
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Coffee exports in seven key countries could rise by 30%.
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Greenhouse gas emissions from coffee farming could fall by 38% across 2.7 million hectares.
“This investment case is not only positive but compelling,” noted Paul Stewart, Global Coffee Director at TechnoServe. “It demonstrates that regenerative practices can simultaneously improve farmer incomes, enhance biodiversity, and reduce carbon emissions.”
Guarding Against Greenwashing
One of the main goals of the RegenCoffee Guidance is to create sector-wide alignment that prevents confusion and mitigates the risks of “greenwashing.” By setting common definitions, principles, outcomes, and indicators, the framework provides credibility and clarity for companies, governments, and consumers.
RegenCoffee also aligns with wider circular economy efforts that aim to make coffee production more sustainable. Circular Economy: Is the Coffee Industry Ready for a Sustainable Shift?.
Scaling regenerative agriculture will require overcoming financial and policy barriers at national and international levels. Barriers to Circular Coffee: How the Industry Can Overcome Financial and Regulatory Challenges.
“This outcome reflects the value of broad collaboration and practical support for all stakeholders,” said Jeremy Lefroy, Chair of GCP’s Technical Committee. “It ensures that the sector can continue—or begin—the necessary steps toward a regenerative coffee future that is consistent, informed, and aligned.”
Looking Ahead
The launch of the RegenCoffee Guidance marks the first phase of a multi-step process. Future phases will integrate regenerative principles into the Coffee Sustainability Reference Code, adapt them to local farming realities, and establish mechanisms for transition financing.
By-products of coffee farming can also play a vital role in sustainability when integrated into regenerative systems. From Bean to Biofuel: How Coffee By-Products are Driving Sustainability in Coffee-Producing Regions.
Technological innovation will further accelerate the transition to regenerative and sustainable coffee. The Future of Coffee: How Technology is Brewing a Greener Cup.
Farmers remain at the center of this transformation. As GCP emphasizes, regeneration will only succeed if farmers are empowered with the right tools, financial support, and technical guidance.
“Without healthy ecosystems, there is no future for coffee. Without responsible farming, no prosperity. Without action, no transformation,” said Adriana Mejía Cuartas, GCP Board Chair and fourth-generation coffee grower from Colombia.
A Call to Collective Action
The Global Coffee Platform is now urging all stakeholders—farmers, cooperatives, governments, roasters, traders, NGOs, and financial institutions—to adopt the RegenCoffee Guidance as a shared foundation for action.
Long-term resilience will also depend on how global supply and demand dynamics evolve in the coming years. ICO Market Report – March 2025.
By aligning around a common regenerative vision, the coffee sector can not only safeguard long-term supply but also contribute meaningfully to global climate resilience and food security.
