Coffee consumption is at an all-time high. Globally, we drink more than 2.25 billion cups each day. In the United States, roughly 66% of Americans drink coffee every day, making it even more popular than tap water.
But rising demand comes with environmental costs. Coffee production contributes to deforestation, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. At-home brewing habits matter too, with disposable cups, single-use pods, and energy-intensive machines all adding to the industry’s footprint.
Coffee production has a real impact on people and the planet, and not always for the better. Clearing forests to plant sun-grown coffee reduces wildlife habitats and increases greenhouse gas emissions. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides used in non-organic farming can also contaminate waterways and degrade soil.
Making your coffee more sustainable doesn’t require a full lifestyle overhaul, just a few smart changes to your daily routine. Small changes, when done at scale, can make a measurable difference.
Choose Sustainable Coffee Beans
If you want your coffee habit to support the planet and farmers, the best place to start is with the beans. Coffee production makes up as much as 80% of the industry’s total carbon footprint.
For coffee producers, while sustainable farming can be challenging to implement, studies show it can pay off long-term. One found that people are willing to pay $1.36 more per pound of coffee that’s produced in an ethical and eco-friendly way.
Skip Instant Coffee
Instant coffee may be convenient, but it comes with a high environmental cost. Producing it requires more than double the number of coffee beans and up to 11 times more energy than ground coffee, according to a 2023 study on the sustainability of coffee production. The additional processing steps, like extraction, evaporation, and drying, are resource-intensive and drive up both emissions and production costs.
Look For Trusted Certifications
Labels like Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, and Organic Certified signal efforts to ensure ethical sourcing, fair pay, and environmentally friendly farming. Fair Trade, for example, guarantees a minimum price for farmers and has delivered over $1 billion in benefits to workers since 1998. Rainforest Alliance-certified farms focus on biodiversity and forest conservation, while Organic certification means the coffee was grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.
But not all certifications are foolproof. Greenwashing, when brands exaggerate or misrepresent their sustainability efforts, is common in the coffee industry. One example is the repeated setting and shifting of targets around single-use plastic bans. In 2019, Starbucks walked back its pledge to make all takeaway cups recyclable or reusable. Moves like this can make a brand appear committed to sustainability while avoiding meaningful change.
Support Direct-Trade And Local Roasters
Buying coffee directly from small, ethical producers can reduce emissions tied to complex global supply chains, promote transparency, and ensure more of the profits go to the farmers.
Some brands are built entirely around this model, including:
Tiny Footprint Coffee: The world’s first carbon-negative coffee company. It offsets its impact by funding reforestation projects in Ecuador for every pound of coffee sold.
Pachamama Coffee: A farmer-owned cooperative that produces organic, shade-grown beans. Profits go directly back to smallholder growers.
Kicking Horse Coffee: Widely available in grocery stores, this brand sources only Fairtrade, organic-certified beans from small farms and supports sustainable agriculture throughout its supply chain.
Direct-trade sourcing also tends to lead to better-quality coffee and stronger long-term relationships between roasters and producers. For consumers, it offers a more traceable, trustworthy way to support ethical farming, without relying solely on certification logos.
Opt For Shade-Grown Coffee
Unlike sun-grown coffee, which often requires deforestation and heavy chemical use, shade-grown coffee supports biodiversity and healthier ecosystems.
Farms that follow this model can store significantly more carbon than full-sun operations and support 30% more bird species. They also help control pests naturally through larger populations of birds and bats, and reduce the spread of diseases like coffee leaf rust by maintaining cooler growing conditions. Certain types of shade-grown farming mimic natural forests and allow farmers to grow other crops, boosting food security and income.
Shade-grown beans also tend to ripen more slowly, enhancing natural sugars and producing a smoother, more complex flavor. Look for Bird Friendly or Shade Grown certifications to ensure your coffee was grown under these conditions.
Reduce Waste In Your Coffee Routine
Even the most sustainably grown coffee can come with a heavy environmental cost if your daily routine creates unnecessary waste. A few simple swaps can make a big difference. Start with one and work through the list.
1. DITCH SINGLE-USE PODS. Single-use coffee pods may offer convenience, but they come at a serious environmental cost. Around 20 billion pods are discarded globally each year — enough to circle the Earth 14 times. Most are made from a mix of plastic and aluminum, which can take 150 to 500 years to break down in a landfill. Recycling is also difficult; many pod systems are brand-specific and not universally accepted by recycling programs.
If you already use a pod machine, switch to refillable pods to reduce waste. But the most sustainable option is to avoid pods altogether. A pod-free coffee maker gives you more control over your brew and creates significantly less long-term waste.
2. COMPOST OR REPURPOSE COFFEE GROUNDS. Used coffee grounds don’t belong in the trash. They’re rich in nitrogen and ideal for composting, helping improve soil structure and attract beneficial microbes that break down organic matter. Just be sure to use them in moderation to avoid excess acidity.
Coffee grounds can also be reused in creative ways:
As a garden fertilizer or pest repellent
To neutralize odors in fridges, shoes, or gym bags
As a natural scrub for cleaning or skin exfoliation
As a DIY dye for fabrics or paper
3. BRING A REUSABLE CUP. Similar to the single-use pods, disposable cups are convenient but costly for the environment. Nearly 50 billion paper cups are discarded each year in the U.S. alone, effectively wasting the over 10 billion gallons of water they took to produce. Most have a plastic lining that makes them difficult to recycle, and improper disposal harms ecosystems by contributing to land and ocean pollution. Each single-use cup produces around 60 g of CO₂ across its entire lifecycle.
Switching to a reusable cup cuts this waste almost entirely. Many major coffee chains, including Starbucks and Costa Coffee, offer discounts or incentives when you bring your own. Reusable cups also keep drinks hotter for longer and reduce the off-taste that sometimes comes with disposable materials.
4. USE SUSTAINABLE BREWING AND ACCESSORIES. How coffee is brewed at home has its own environmental impact. While automatic drip machines remain the most popular coffee brewing method for home use in the U.S., each method has a different energy footprint and waste output.
Espresso machines, for example, draw 1000–1500 watts and consume more energy than most alternatives. Standard drip machines use less, but many models stay heated for hours, which adds up. Single-serve pod machines require only 300 watts per cup, yet still contribute significantly to waste due to their reliance on disposable plastic pods. Cold brew, on the other hand, can be steeped at room temperature and stored in the fridge, allowing you to make large batches with zero heat. It is a low-energy option that reduces emissions and eliminates the need for disposable filters or single-use parts.
Every step in the coffee process, from farming to brewing, has an environmental cost. But with thoughtful adjustments, that cost can be reduced. Whether you’re buying beans or choosing a brewing method, opt for options that reflect your sustainability goals. Over time, those decisions add up.
Excerpted with permission from the complete guide for How to Make Your Coffee Habit More Sustainable from Market.com.
Maya Maceka is a product review expert for Market.com, a company with a goal of helping you make smarter buying decisions, faster, with clear, honest advice from experts who work for you, not the brands.
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