Julius Meinl, the premium Vienna-based coffee roaster, has released its fifth Sustainability Report, presenting a comprehensive overview of the company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. For the first time, the report provides full coverage of the company’s operations across all 20 countries, spanning the period from January 1 to December 31, 2024. The report highlights tangible actions driven by the company’s sustainability strategy and flagship initiatives, including the Responsibly Selected Coffee Initiative and the Generations Programme.

“We are focused on building a future where great coffee and responsible business go hand in hand,” says Marcel Löffler, CEO of the Group. In a year marked by rising global sustainability expectations, volatility of coffee prices and growing climate-related challenges for coffee producers, Julius Meinl continued to deepen its impact throughout the coffee value chain. The report provides an insight into the company’s efforts in collaboration with various partners, to improve coffee farmers’ livelihoods and protect the environment, while embedding sustainability across the company’s own operations.

A central achievement of Julius Meinl in 2024 was reaching 71% responsibly selected coffee, far exceeding the company’s annual target of 60%. This reflects the strength of Julius Meinl’s partnerships with its green coffee suppliers and the progress the company is making in aligning with robust social, environmental, and economic sustainability standards.

Julius Meinl is also one of the few companies of its size to have signed an ESG-linked loan, demonstrating its strong commitment to sustainability by directly tying financial incentives to the company’s performance on ESG criteria. 

The 2024 report showcases actions and progress under the three pillars of Julius Meinl’s 2030 Sustainability Agenda: Origin, Planet, and People.

ORIGIN

Committed to creating long-lasting positive impact for farmers, farming communities and the environment in coffee-origins, Julius Meinl excelled in expanding its core coffee sustainability initiatives in 2024: 

• At the heart of Julius Meinl’s sustainability work is its Responsibly Selected Coffee Initiative, which ensures green coffee is purchased from suppliers’ sustainability schemes aligned with the Global Coffee Platform’s Coffee Sustainability Reference Code. In 2024, 71% of green coffee roasted in Julius Meinl’s plants in Vienna and Vicenza was responsibly selected, exceeding the 60% annual target and well on track to meet the 100% goal by the end of 2025. 

• The Generations Programme, one of the company’s flagship initiatives, offering tailored support to coffee farmers to build thriving, sustainable coffee businesses for future generations, was expanded to new farmer groups in Colombia and Uganda:
  
  A second phase of the Uganda project was launched at the end of 2024, extending training on yield improvement, good agricultural practices, and income diversification to an additional 150 farmers.
  
  In Colombia, the ongoing Generations Programme project entered its second year, supporting another 50 farmers with capacity building for sustainable farming practices and equipment investments to improve and ultimately maintain soil health as a generational legacy and the basis for good quality coffee.

• The share of organic and Fairtrade certified green coffee increased from 2.2% in 2023 to 3.6% in 2024, reflecting growing demand and focus on sustainable agriculture and good working conditions for farmers.

• Julius Meinl joined the public-private initiative for coffee&climate, contributing to the launch of the coffee&climate toolbox, an open-source digital platform that equips farmers globally with practical, climate-smart agricultural techniques.

PLANET

With climate action as a central pillar of its strategy, Julius Meinl focused on reducing its carbon footprint and accelerating the transition to more circular business practices:

The company achieved a 5% reduction in Scope 1 & 2 emissions compared to its 2022 baseline, supported by targeted decarbonisation measures including:

• The installation of catalytic converters at the end of 2023 has significantly contributed to reduced gas consumption during our roasting processes in 2024.
• Continued investments into energy efficiency and decarbonisation measures for the company’s office infrastructure. Particularly great impacts could be noted through switching the Vienna office’s heating system to renewable energy and the installation of solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations in the Romanian office.
• Launch of a sustainable fleet policy, kick-starting the electrification and route optimisation for product deliveries with the company’s fleet.

Several subsidiaries piloted circular economy initiatives, such as the innovative approach by Julius Meinl Poland, which repurposed cardboard waste into eco-friendly packaging filler. This initiative helped reduce plastic use, transport emissions, and landfill waste.

PEOPLE

In 2024, Julius Meinl placed increased emphasis on employee engagement and empowering local teams to lead sustainability from within:

The company has reached 40% female representation in top management positions in 2024.

Results from Julius Meinl’s first Gallup Engagement Survey underscore a strong internal culture, with a score of 3.89, placing the company in the 58th percentile of Gallup’s European database. This indicates high employee engagement, satisfaction, and a shared commitment to the company’s mission.

The company’s first-ever gathering of its global network of Sustainability Ambassadors took place in February 2024. The Sustainability Ambassadors play a key role in embedding sustainability into daily operations, supporting ESG reporting, and fostering internal engagement across all subsidiaries.

Click here to read the full report