Report exposes JDE Peet’s potential non-compliance with EU deforestation-free regulation
A total of 4782 hectares have been cleared, including 299.5 hectares of native vegetation falling under the FAO Forest definition
KAMPALA, April 8, 2025 – Coffee Watch, the global watchdog organisation dedicated to reforming the coffee industry, and AidEnvironment, have released the first of a series of company deforestation risk profiles. These will form the basis of a new deforestation regulation Compliance Checker. It links incidents of deforestation, forest conversion, and human rights abuses to companies that import forest risk commodities into the EU such as coffee.
The first company profile examines JDE Peet’s, one of the world’s largest coffee companies. The profile identifies six coffee farms in Brazil from which JDE Peet’s appears to be sourcing coffee. These farms are linked to what satellite mapping shows to be forest clearing. Crucially, the forest in question was cleared after the European Union Deforestation Regulation [EUDR] cut-off date of December 31, 2020. There is a high risk that sourcing from these farms could result in non-compliance with the EUDR due to the detected deforestation.
A total of 4782 hectares have been cleared, including 299.5 hectares of native vegetation falling under the FAO Forest definition, on the six farms located in the Minas Gerais and Bahia region of the Cerrado, since 2022. These farms sell green coffee beans to large traders and roasters including Montesanto Taveres Group, Starbucks, Sucafina, Cooxupé, Olam and JDE Peet’s.
“The EU Deforestation Regulation is set to come into application in January 2026 and the coffee industry must be ready – all coffee companies need to put their nose to the grindstone to get into compliance with the law” said Etelle Higonnet, Coffee Watch Founder & Director. She added, “What AidEnvironment’s new Compliance Checker does is provide an essential tool for companies, law enforcement, journalists, and civil society – it pinpoints quite precisely where non-compliance appears to be happening, so that everyone involved can urgently sort out problems before the law kicks in.”
Background on JDE Peet’s
JDE Peet’s sources approximately 8 percent of the world’s green coffee from 30 countries including the following top suppliers: Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, Uganda, and Ethiopia with Brazil as the largest supplier. In 2023, JDE Peet’s generated total sales of EUR 8.2 billion and employed a global workforce of more than 21,000 employees. JDE Peet’s has committed to working towards 100 percent responsibly sourced coffee by December 31, 2025. The company claims to have achieved 83.8 percent responsibly sourced green coffee globally in 2023, including 97% responsibly sourced green coffee into Europe.
JDE Peet’s Response
In response to a draft version of the case studies in the report, JDE Peet’s shared: “For EUDR compliance we have assessed our risk based on an existing deforestation database, engaged with our suppliers to validate their preparedness and in the instance of risk, we will conduct remediation actions such as additional polygon verification. Thanks to our jointed effort with our technology partner, NGOs and origin governments, we have succeeded in 2024 to eradicate deforestation post 2020 in 7 countries.”
The company added that its effort has been critical to ensure that coffee production doesn’t contribute to deforestation and its direct impact on climate change and biodiversity loss which are a critical threat to the entire sector. ”Thus, we are taking steps not only to be compliant, but also to address the underlying problems that the EUDR legislation tries to address: global deforestation, biodiversity loss and climate impact, which threaten the future of the coffee industry. We currently work with smallholder farmers in more than 70 active projects in 24 countries to continuously improve sustainable and regenerative farming practices, farmer livelihoods and labour practices.”
In response to the specific case studies, JDE Peet’s said: In response to six coffee cases shared with JDE Peet’s in March 2025, the company wrote that “since the plots in question have undergone deforestation that precludes any possibility of coffee harvesting before 2026, these cases could not be linked to JDE Peet’s operations.”
AidEnvironment continues to point out that: “…any clearing of forest after the EUDR cut-off date may involve future risks for coffee companies if coffee beans of the cleared plots would enter the European market from January 2026.”
Coffee Watch urges JDE Peet’s and other coffee companies to take immediate action to comply with the EUDR and identify risks of EUDR non-compliance in supply chains ahead of the fast-approaching EUDR application date of January 2025.
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