Grupo Nabeiro – Delta Cafés presented the Group’s global sustainability strategy at the Estufa Fria in Lisbon. The presentation was attended by the Prime Minister António Costa with the presence of the Deputy Minister of the Economy, Pedro Siza Vieira, also the mayor of Lisbon – Fernando Medina, the Mayor of Campo Maior, Ricardo Furtado Pinheiro, and the presence of the CEO of the Nabeiro-Delta Cafés Group, Rui Nabeiro and other members of the Administration, as his father Rui Nabeiro and the family patriarch and founder of Delta, the commander Rui Nabeiro.
Before an audience of more than 500 people in which the Nabeiro Group’s employees stood out, the day was also important because of the announcement of the “new Delta Q coffe capsule” 100 of organic origin, a new capsule developed by the Center of Innovation together with Portuguese external partners with 0% plastics, 0% micro-plastics and 0% aluminum. Rui Nabeiro announced that the company aims to transform the current coffee cartridges to 100% biodegradable as part of the company’s new sustainable strategy in the coming years. Sustainability was the theme and the young CEO of the company- Rui Nabeiro says “Today we are going to talk about sustainability in all aspects: economic, social and environmental.
The company’s new coffee capsules are scheduled to enter the market later this year and were developed by the Nabeiro Group Innovation Center, The Diverge, in conjunction with external partners and national Research Centers. The coffee in these new capsules “will be of biological origin and will be released in the market during the second half of this year,” he explained. “We want to guarantee that 100% of our capsules will be made in this biodegradable format by 2025”, all in the name of sustainability of the planet, the only one we got to live in. But talking about coffee is talking about the coffee grounds. There is another partnership and an innovation with the use of “coffee grounds” for the cultivation of mushrooms. Delta has thus partnered with the startup NÃM from Belgian Natan Jacquemin, considered an “example of circular economy”, which produces mushrooms using the coffee grounds.
Coffee produced in Azores
The other special news was the presentation and signing of a partnership agreement with the Association of Azorean Coffee Producers (APAC), which will enable the production, roasting and marketing of the first and only coffee in Europe and from Portugal. José Bernardo, president of APAC, said: “One day your coffee with Azores milk will also have coffee produced in the archipelago.” So Delta has a 15-year commitment to help up to 500 coffee growers in the region to improve coffee production and production capacity, announced Rui Miguel Nabeiro, the administrator of the Nabeiro Group “And with this partnership we will start to drink coffee from the Azores here,” said the Prime Minister António Costa. “It will certainly be a great commitment for the future sustainability of the Azores region”, which cannot be based only on the monoculture of the dairy cow. Nabeiro Group’s bet came after two field missions to investigate the coffee production capacity in the archipelago. The Azores have 20 to 30 producers providing around 9 tons mainly for domestic consumption, says Rui Miguel Nabeiro.
The aim of this settlement with the Association of Azorean Coffee Producers (APAC) is to increase production in the region – the only one in Europe to produce coffee – and to help up to 500 producers in all the islands, although the largest production is in Terceira and in S. Jorge. Jose Bernardo said: “We were not going forward alone. The closed commitment with Delta will help raise household incomes, “some of them only producing coffee part-time”. “We do not want to end the dairy cow production, but complement it”, he stated. Delta Cafés will support APAC members in all phases of coffee production: from the introduction of new competitive and economically viable coffee varieties, through technical advice and marketing support, to the development of a strategic plan for the whole productive chain of coffee, promoting a profitable socio-economic sector.
Rui Miguel Nabeiro does not risk production values, but ensures that the company has the commitment to purchase this kind of coffee. The administrator does not disclose a date for the production of the Azores to start being marketed by Delta. Delta has brought a team of Brazilian coffee specialists to the Azores and has come to the conclusion that it is possible to produce mass coffee in the archipelago and launch a 100% Portuguese brand, unique in Europe.
“We do not know when the Azorean coffee will reach the stores. There is much work to be done. We have brought a team from Brazil that is in the Azores to survey the needs. This team has already realized that it is possible to do mass production of coffee in the Azores”, said Rui Nabeiro.
Still regarding sustainability and a cleaner planet, in addition to sustainable capsules, Delta Cafés intends to reinforce the company’s electric fleet: “currently 20% of the commercial fleet is electric, and 100% of the fleet in Lisbon is electric”, he explained. “By 2025, we want to have 100% of our commercial active electric fleet”, added the CEO, as well as installation and solar panels for self consumption in its major centers.