Deloitte launches True Price Coffee Bar

The true price of our food

Humans need food to survive, but our current system of food production and consumption is actually threatening life on our planet. It’s a major cause for global loss of biodiversity, climate change and poverty. From an economic perspective, those damages are costs, but they are not (yet) included in the price we pay for our food. We are just passing the unpaid costs on to next generations all around the world. Obviously, this is not a future proof situation.

Transforming the food ecosystem

This is why Deloitte and catering company Hutten are launching the True Price Coffee Bar initiative in its Amsterdam office. For years, Deloitte has been very much involved in future proofing the food sector all around the world and in helping organisations become more sustainable. Randy Jagt, Future of Food lead at Deloitte: ‘Serving more than 80% of all food companies in the world, we are convinced that a transformation of the entire food ecosystem is necessary, for them as well as for our planet and its population. We support these companies with our skills and expertise, providing insights into the choices they have and what their decisions will mean for the future of their company and society as a whole. This involves the entire global food chain, from farmers to consumers. It also includes us, Deloitte professionals - we are consumers, too. That’s why we contacted True Price to help us raise awareness about social and environmental costs of two particular, very popular products – coffee and tea. First of all within Deloitte, and hopefully also within the rest of our ecosystem.’

We are convinced that a transformation of the entire food ecosystem is necessary, for food companies as well as for our planet and its population.

Randy Jagt - Future of Food Lead

Starting with the coffee bar

True Price has calculated the true price of the four most popular types of coffee – and mint tea - that are being served at the Deloitte “The Edge” office in Amsterdam. From 14 February 2022 onwards, Deloitte employees and their visitors ordering any of these drinks at the coffee bar will be asked if they are willing to pay the extra costs. This will range from a couple of cents to almost 1 euro per drink. The coffee bar will keep count of the number of drinks for which the true price has been voluntarily paid, to measure the success of the initiative. The ”true price” proceeds will be donated to the FairClimateFund to finance and implement climate projects that result in less CO2 emissions, to protect trees and improve the living conditions for people in developing countries.

How to calculate the true price of coffee?

So exactly how can we determine the true price? Michel Scholte, director and co-founder of True Price: ‘First, we assess the entire supply chain of a product. Then we identify any violations of human, sustainability, and labour rights within the supply chain, and finally, we calculate the cost of remediating these violations, based on the sum of restoring, compensating, preventing and possibly fining the violations.’ The calculation involves eight environmental and social parameters: climate change, water use, land use, air pollution, water pollution, use of scarce materials, child labour, and poverty.

Next steps

True Price has already done similar projects for hundreds of clients around the world in the last ten years. Scholte: ‘This is not about greenwashing. We only work for clients who actually want to make a difference. We hope that transparency to customers and market players will help them opt for more sustainable alternatives and decrease social and environmental costs. Our long-term goal is to end global poverty and reduce CO2 emissions.’ Dieuwertje Ewalts, Sustainability lead for Deloitte Consulting NL and initiator of the True Price Coffee Bar: ‘Currently, consumers are actually willing to do the right thing, but they don’t know how. The first step is awareness and inspiring discussions within and outside Deloitte, the next, more challenging step will hopefully be behavioural change and a more sustainable food industry. I’m looking forward to receiving many calls from organisations who want to launch a True Price Coffee Bar initiative themselves!’

The first step is awareness and inspiring discussions within and outside Deloitte.

Dieuwertje Ewalts - Sustainability Lead for Deloitte Consulting NL

About FairClimateFund

FairClimateFund is a non-profit social enterprise which - together with partners - finances and implements climate projects that result in less CO2 emissions, the protection of trees and the creation of improved living conditions for people in developing countries.