Sustainable Expo

Using this event to benefit coffee producers and their communities

Since 2012, the SCA has employed a sustainable event strategy to reduce the environmental impact of Expo, which has included the purchase of carbon offsets.

Sustainable Expo in Action

In 2025, the Specialty Coffee Association will aim to offset the greenhouse gas emissions from this year’s trade shows by supporting agroforestry and forest restoration work in Burundi, in partnership with Sucafina and implemented by Kahawatu Foundation.

This project is a continuation of Kahawatu and Sucafina’s ongoing sustainability work within the Burundian coffee sector, activities which include tree rejuvenation, livestock solidarity chains, and support of Village Saving and Loan Associations (VSLAs), all of which contribute to the development and resilience of the coffee sector.

This partnership, supported by Barista Attitude and Pacific Barista Series, will oversee the planting of thousands of enriching native trees – including fruit bearing species – to provide shade, nutrients, and other resources to the coffee producing communities of Ngozi and Kayanza Provinces in Burundi:

  • 22,000* tree seedlings

  • Over 2,000 MT of CO2e sequestration after five years.

  • 10-15 trees per household, impacting about 1,800 households in the region.

*22,000 seedlings distributed with an average/expected 30% mortality rate resulting in 16,000 trees established in coffee farms. The variety of trees will be distributed and according to estimates will capture an average of 125 kg CO2-e/tree over the course of 5 years.The numbers are estimates based on research and should be considered un-verified.