Climate Action Allie Stauss has acted as the Senior Project Manager of Supply Chain Sustainability for Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. since 2021. Credit: Allie Stauss
As a Supply Chain Sustainability Manager at one of the largest beverage corporations in the world, Allie Stauss knows firsthand the importance of responsible sourcing and farmer resilience.
Allie spends most of her time developing a sustainable coffee supply chain strategy at Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP), a leading US beverage company with more than 125 licensed and partner brands and over 28,000 employees worldwide.
True to its purpose, “Drink Well. Do Good.”, KDP is committed to sourcing, producing, and distributing beverages in a sustainable way, while promoting social and environmental responsibility.
The Challenge
From global market fluctuations to harvests impacted by extreme weather events, the coffee industry is complex and can be very volatile. Often, the impacts of these challenges are most acute for those at the first mile of the supply chain: the smallholder coffee farmers. For companies like KDP that rely on farmers to produce their raw materials, it is critical to invest in building farmer resilience by supporting sustainable livelihoods and products.
Allie has spoken with KDP coffee suppliers about farmers’ concerns, and two issues have emerged as paramount. The first is “climate change and building resilience to adapt” and the second is “profitability and the ability to achieve a sustainable income and a strong livelihood through coffee.”
Representatives from KDP and Root Capital participated in a panel discussion with a mutual agricultural enterprise client at the 2024 Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Expo in Chicago. Photo Credit: Root Capital.
Our Collaboration
Since 2000, KDP and Root Capital have collaborated closely. As Allie explains, “I would distill Root Capital’s value proposition to KDP down to three things. The first is the alignment of our values, which means ensuring we’re all working towards the same North Star. The second is the organization’s strategic positioning and capability to address the issues that are presented to us by our suppliers, specifically from the farmers’ perspective. The third comes down to the track record of execution – the organization’s reputation and testimonials from trusted partners.”
Over the years, the partnership has supported farmers through the coffee leaf rust crisis and periods of low market prices, in addition to providing relief to agricultural enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, KDP provides flexible funding that enables Root Capital to support its clients to invest in climate action, including furnishing a climate innovation reserve fund that de-risks new climate financing products. They also support technical advisory services to help cooperatives and farmers adapt to the effects of climate change.
“KDP is particularly excited about Root Capital’s Agronomic and Climate Resilience Advisory service,” explains Allie. “This means deploying agronomists to work directly with KDP suppliers and to build climate adaptation plans that are customized to the unique needs of each coffee cooperative.”
After almost 25 years, KDP’s collaboration with Root Capital keeps growing and evolving with a mutual commitment to help advance each other’s sustainability and social responsibility goals.
“I see it as a win-win partnership. Root Capital has proven to be a very agile partner, and they’re really responsive to the changing needs of our coffee supply base,” she adds.
The Impact
The long-term partnership with Root Capital has helped KDP to enhance the security of its supply of high-quality coffee by investing in the communities that grow coffee. “I’ve been to a lot of coffee farms, and I’ve met with many coffee cooperative leaders. You can tell as soon as you walk into their offices which ones have received support from Root Capital – there’s a sense of professionalism and process orientation. You can see that investment has been made in managerial capabilities. They are also able to develop a loyal farmer member base because they’ve built trust – that farmers will be paid on time.
“The challenges that the coffee industry faces are complex, and they are structural. Root Capital’s approach of focusing on agricultural businesses enables meaningful impact. It is so necessary.”