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Protect Nature

ECOM is committed to protecting and regenerating nature, as well as improving producers' resilience to the effects of climate change, in collaboration with partners and clients. 

Implementation

Our focus

ECOM's commitments to protect and regenerate nature are:
  • •  Optimising our natural resource management practices
  • •  Improving farmer resilience to the effects of climate change
  • •  Becoming a Net Zero emissions company in our Scope 1, 2 and 3 by 2050

The effects of climate change pose a significant risk to the future of commodities, particularly the wellbeing of producers in supply chains. Increased incidence of extreme weather events threatens the livelihoods of producers as they make crop cycles unpredictable and affect global supply. 

We align our policies with applicable local, national and international
regulations as well as leading sustainability frameworks. 

Areas for Strategic Focus

Supporting forest-positive futures

To safeguard important areas of biodiversity, it’s essential that we address deforestation and transform growing practices to support a forest-positive future.

ECOM’s agroforestry initiatives in coffee and cocoa are integrating trees into farming systems to improve soil and water health and preserve local biodiversity. In cotton, we’re working with our clients, producers and academics to tackle the challenges posed not only by deforestation but by urban growth and tourism.

What this means in practice

Cocoa & forests initiative

We are participating in the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI), which is a public-private partnership based on frameworks for action and action plans for the private and public sectors in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana that support our commitments to: protect and restore forests, promote sustainable cocoa production and farmers’ livelihoods, and engage communities and boost social inclusion. We have already launched agroforestry projects in Latin America and West Africa. For example, our joint venture 1,200 ha OFIR plantation in Sierra Leone serves as a model for how these projects can work at scale by partnering with local communities.

Regeneration in Latin America

In 2021 we joined a leading cocoa brand and transformative asset manager 12Tree on the Andean Cacao venture with a commitment to regenerate unproductive farmland in Latin America. The project will oversee the regeneration of over 2,000 hectares of cattle grazing land into a highly productive, sustainable farm with the goal of delivering quality carbon-neutral cocoa beans. The farm will help prove climate-smart farming practices that can then be scaled globally. Together, we aim to provide a working model that will improve carbon capture in soil, engender healthy soil, protect biodiversity, create living-wage job opportunities and support neighbouring communities.

Cotton – bringing healthy soil back to Brazil

The climate crisis is having a severe impact on the health of soil – and this in turn impacts on farming. In Brazil, ECOM’s cotton division is working with experts in soil, sustainability and agronomy on the regenagri® project. The initiative supports farms to transition to regenerative farming techniques that increase organic soil matter, encourage biodiversity, reduce GHG emissions and sequester CO2. One supplier, who started with the program 5 years ago and currently produces 7,500 mt of cotton, has shown a 34% reduction in use of chemicals, alongside significant efficiencies in fertiliser use, land and water use, and greater carbon fixation. In the US, ECOM is the first merchant to be certified regenagri®, meaning we have been able to provide traceable, certified bales.

Supporting farmers to reduce emissions

Longer dry seasons, reduced rainfall and disease are already making life harder for farmers.

At ECOM, we’re supporting farmers to tackle climate change, fortify their farms and sustain crop production far into the future. We’re not doing this in isolation – we’re collaborating with our producers, customers and stakeholders all along our supply chains to find the synergies we need for maximum climate change impact.

What this means in practice

Breaking new ground in Nicaragua

Since 2011, Philippe Courtel has been on the front lines of cocoa innovation for ECOM. In the past ten years, he has seen first-hand the effect of global warming on farming systems, from soil degradation to reduced productivity and drought. Philippe believes, however, that we can use science to combat those effects. In his work in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, he has helped develop and roll out a state-of-the-art technique – somatic embryogenesis – that enables the creation of coffee hybrids, thereby improving plant quality and increasing yield. This is just is one of the techniques being developed by ECOM, SMS and our partners to create resilient plants that can withstand the onslaught of climate change and diseases.

More efficient cocoa farming in Ecuador

Supporting more efficient growing is key to helping farmers to adapt to climate change and to protecting the environment. In Ecuador, ECOM’s cocoa division has partnered with leading companies to find ways of making technology used in large industrial farms work for smallholders. Together, we developed several new technical packages and protocols for small-scale farms for irrigation and fertilisation, then established demonstration plots in Ecuador and Peru to validate the kits and fertiliser blends. Farmers who took up the packages were trained and given access to affordable finance – and, to show them the value of investing in our innovation for their business, we shared our cost-benefit and climate change vulnerability assessments with them.

Progress through partnership

ECOM’s cotton division is exploring a number of ways to measure and manage our impact, in partnership with several major global organisations. We were the first merchant to join the Better Cotton (BC) and played a key role in shaping its development. We are also an active member of Textile Exchange®, a global nonprofit organisation that’s positively impacting the climate by accelerating the use of preferred fibers across the global textile industry. By 2030, its goal is to guide the industry to achieve a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions within fiber and raw material production. We currently participate in their Sustainable Cotton and Organic Cotton Round Tables, as well as in the 2025 Sustainable Cotton Challenge Team and the Fiber Crops Module (FCM) pilot. We know that by collaborating, we’ll increase our knowledge and reach and, ultimately, progress faster.

Cutting Carbon

Setting our Net Zero target has been the culmination of a long process and a commitment to be fully in line with the 1.5 degree scenario of the Paris Agreement. Most of our emissions as a commodities trader come from our Scope 3 operations.

However, in order to achieve our goal of being a Net Zero organisation by 2050, it’s vital that we look at how we can reduce the Scope 1 and 2 emissions produced in our factories and warehouses. We will reduce our carbon footprint through sustainable operations in energy, water and waste, including the use of fossil-fuel alternatives. Already we use solar power and biogas as alternative power sources at the farmer and facility level, as well as sophisticated techniques to treat wastewater and recycle waste.

What this means in practice

The factory of the future

Acom invested into 1250 kWp of rooftop solar power capacity, under an FIT (feed-in tariff) with national grid operator EVN. Under this contract, EVN buys back at fixed price our excess of production and we keep purchasing power from EVN when the solar production goes below our consumption. We actually produce more electricity than we consume, meaning it operates as carbon negative.

Scope 3 projects

Nestlé’s Forest Positive strategy launched in June 2021 aims to contribute to reforestation efforts and having a positive impact on its broader sourcing landscapes. A main component of this strategy is the Global Reforestation Program, which aims to plant and grow 200 million trees by 2030 in the sourcing landscapes. Nestlé’s projects will help restore natural forest landscapes, introduce agroforestry systems for suitable crops and support other natural ecosystem restoration activities. Nicaragua is one of the countries in Latin America to implement the ambitious Bosques del Mañana project, which is part of Nestlé’s Global Reforestation Program. Between 2021 and 2026, Bosques del Mañana will plant 8.6 million trees in Nestlé’s dairy and coffee supply chains and contribute to accelerate the transition to sustainable and regenerative farming systems. ECOM is responsible for the execution of the project.

Nigeria factory solar power

Tulip Cocoa Processing Ltd. (TCP), is a cocoa processing factory in Ogun state Nigeria. Due to various reasons TCP is not connected to the grid and was solely dependent on diesel generators for electricity and diesel boilers for steam. Therefore TCP started a project which was focussed around reducing the factory's dependance on diesel thus reducing cost and its carbon footprint. The project entailed installing a solar field, batteries and a biomass boiler. During the day the factory can be powered 100% using solar and the generators are only used during night time and bad weather. The solar field was one of the biggest in West Africa at the time of installation. The Biomass boiler, using cocoa shells generated from the factory, has taken over 80-100% of the factory's steam needs. Total diesel consumption has been halved thus making the project a great success. We also helped the neighbouring community village by providing them solar streetlights, which makes it a safer place at night.

Innovating for the future

Healthy ecosystems and rich biodiversity are essential for resilient farming. Pollinators, soil organisms, and natural pest predators all play critical roles in maintaining productive, sustainable farms. As climate change and land degradation threaten these systems, innovation is key. By investing in these innovations now, farming can remain both productive and regenerative for future generations.

ECOM partners with industry leaders to develop and support the innovative solutions that will make this happen.

What this means in practice

Landscape-level biodiversity risks evaluation

In Ecuador, we began a collaboration with Reckitt and Nature-based Insights (NbI) to conduct a biodiversity screening of cocoa farms in our supply chain in Ecuador.  In 2024, ECOM continued this collaboration, with NbI assessing the state of nature across terrestrial, wetland and river ecosystems. The assessment identified key pressures on biodiversity in the landscape. Read more in our Cocoa Sustainability Reports.  

Kids' Birdwatching Club in Costa Rica

The Casa de la Alegría project in San Ramón, Costa Rica, is supporting coffee-farming families by nurturing both education and environmental awareness. As part of its expansion, the new Kids’ Birdwatching Club introduces children of Nespresso AAA producers to the vital role birds play in coffee ecosystems. Through guided walks and hands-on activities, the club sparks curiosity about biodiversity and sustainable farming. With an ageing farming population, engaging young people through creative, nature-focused initiatives is key to securing the future of coffee cultivation.

Organic cotton in Tajikstan

Organic cotton is grown using natural methods such as crop rotation, green manures and absolutely no artificial pesticides or fertilisers. It is a key part of our sustainability strategy, and we have the possibility of extending our organic cotton partnerships to Tajikistan with The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). These kinds of partnerships enable ECOM to encourage the spread of regenerative farming and protection of ecosystems across every continent.

Manage Traceability

How we manage change through transparency and traceability