Partner Profile: Mother Parkers

Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee

Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee is one of North America’s leading coffee and tea companies, providing private label solutions, as well as manufacturing its own brands. State-of-the-art technology and more than 100 years of experience have combined to help make the company a leading innovator with the recyclable EcoCup® single-serve capsule that makes it easy for consumers to divert plastic from landfill. Mother Parkers is also the founder of Water Wise Coffee®, a program dedicated to improving lives in coffee-growing communities.

Statement of support

“For decades, Mother Parkers has worked with our partners in coffee-growing regions around the world to support sustainable and safe coffee farming communities. We’re proud to join the Sustainable Coffee Challenge to learn from others, to share our experiences and to encourage all parties in the coffee supply chain to take the necessary steps to protect the future of the coffee industry and make it the first fully sustainable agricultural product.”

Our Commitments

In partnership with CARE Canada we will launch a 5 year project to support the sustainability of the coffee sector in the region of the dry corridor of Honduras, through activities with a focus on water quality, harvesting and retention. The project will reach over 2000 Farmers through one or more of the following initiatives: 1) Vetiver wetlands and pulp segregation activities to reduce the impact of wet milling effluent on rivers 2) Harvesting water via catchment systems and 3) Training in climate smart water practices.

In partnership with: CARE Canada, Government of Canada

Update

June 2023

The WaterWise Honduras project was part of a larger program called PROLEMPA, this was a collaborative development project, funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC), striving to achieve economic empowerment and well-being of small

entrepreneurs and producers in the Dry Corridor of Honduras, especially women, youth and marginalized people living in poverty. The goal of this project was to address water use by coffee producers in Honduras, treating wastewater as a by-product of wet-milling through a vetiver implementation program, water catchment to assist with coffee processing and training in climate resilient water practices for coffee producers. This goal was significantly surpassed, with the desire for producers to participate being the most unintended positive impact! Particularly women, Indigenous, and next-generation producers.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Plant 1 Million Trees in Coffee and Tea growing regions by 2025

In partnership with: One Tree Planted

Update

June 2023

In 2022, Mother Parkers planted 100,000 trees in Guatemala, and 100,000 tress in Kenya.

The Guatemala project focused on planting trees to transition biodiverse organic agroforestry systems brings all ecological benefits, starting with erosion control, to improved biodiversity, carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, water filtration and nutrient cycling. The focus here was education of producers including Indigenous groups and youth engagement.

The Kenya project objectives were to support community members from this area to plant trees on their farms. Growing of these trees will help in mitigating impacts of climate change like change in weather patterns. These trees will also help in improving soil fertility, reduce massive soil erosion, reduce use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, protect community farms and crops from strong winds, provide fodder leaves, improve nutritional value and income.