In line with International Coffee Day on October 1, “The Empty Cup” campaign marks the first time Nespresso’s long-term brand ambassador, George Clooney, holds an empty cup instead of his trademark Nespresso coffee.
Nespresso marks International Coffee Day by highlighting the threat posed by climate change to global coffee production. The pioneer and reference-point of high-quality portioned coffee shines a spotlight on efforts to protect it. The campaign highlights the need to protect high-quality coffee from climate threat. In “The Empty Cup,” starring George Clooney, Nespresso spotlights the risk that climate change poses to farming communities as the brand steps up its long-term commitment to preserve the world’s finest coffees.
The campaign features brand ambassador George Clooney holding an empty coffee cup as a symbol of the risk facing many coffee growers around the world, of which over 140,000 work directly with Nespresso. Currently, 60% of wild coffee species are endangered and 50% of the land used to grow coffee today could be unviable by 2050. Fine-grade Arabica is particularly vulnerable to weather shocks.
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Securing and protecting the future of high-quality coffee has been central to Nespresso’s strategy for the last 20 years. Launched in 2003 in collaboration with Rainforest Alliance, the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program helps to improve the yield and quality of harvests while protecting the environment and improving the livelihoods of farmers and their communities.
Empowering farming communities to protect their land against weather shocks while simultaneously combatting the causes of climate change is critical to the future sustainability of high-grade coffee. Nespresso is doing this through regenerative agriculture: an approach that has the potential to not only reduce global agri-food emissions but to increase rural resilience against the impacts of climate change.
“The Empty Cup” campaign marks the first time that Nespresso’s long-term brand ambassador is pictured holding an empty cup in place of his trademark Nespresso coffee.
Clooney states, “The threat of climate change is real and coffee farmers are on the front line. It’s vital that we empower these communities to build financial and environmental resilience, so that they not only survive but thrive and prosper. This concept is at the heart of the Nespresso approach.”
The brand ambassador continues, “But this is about more than coffee. Climate change is not something that a single company or even an entire industry can fix. It requires urgent, bold action on a global scale. The stakes are high.”
Meanwhile, Guillaume Le Cunff, Nespresso ceo, has this to share: “The exquisite taste, high quality, and specialty coffee blends that are important to coffee lovers are at risk. We must act to protect coffee and coffee communities against climate change.”
The ceo adds, “This has been the basis of Nespresso’s approach for 20 years, and now we’re going even further. Regenerative agriculture has the potential to make farming part of the solution to the climate crisis. It is an approach which doesn’t just take from the land, but actually heals nature and restores balance. I’m proud that Nespresso is pioneering this transition, but we need to do more. We’re calling on entities – both private and public – to take action that will make a tangible difference.”
Santiago Gowland, Rainforest Alliance CEO, elaborates by saying, “Almost a quarter of emissions come from agriculture, forestry and other land use. We urgently need swifter action to address climate change and changing the way we grow our food must play a big part. The good news is that transitioning to regenerative agriculture can reduce the impact of farming and sustain our global food system for future generations.” Nespresso is collaborating with the Rainforest Alliance to build a framework for regenerative agriculture in coffee. Learn more at rainforest-alliance.org/resource-item/regenerative-coffee-scorecard/.
Collaborating with Time Magazine
“The Empty Cup “is George Clooney’s sixteenth campaign for Nespresso. Ahead of International Coffee Day on October 1, the brand ambassador urges readers to ‘think outside the cup’ when it comes to tackling climate change.
In a partnership with Time magazine, Nespresso aims to highlight the threat to high-quality coffee and demonstrate how farmers are fighting back. Time100 Next goes on sale September 30.
To know more, visit the Nespresso corporate website: nestle-nespresso.com.
Banner photo from Nespresso and Instagram @nespresso.
