Success of the "Coffee Sustainability Forum": The path to a circular economy with AL-INVEST Verde
Experts from Latin America and Europe demonstrated that it is possible to double coffee profitability and reduce the carbon footprint by 75% through the use of clean technologies
The event highlighted the success of the AL-INVEST Verde Café Circular Perú project, which benefits 300 SMEs in the Oxapampa-Asháninka-Yánesha Biosphere Reserve
Brussels / Lima, May 7, 2026 Aiming to articulate solutions to climate vulnerability and global market demands, the Finnova Foundation and the NGO descocentro successfully held the international webinar "Sustainability Forum in the Coffee Agrotourism Sector" yesterday, Wednesday, May 6.
The virtual meeting is part of the AL-INVEST Verde Café Circular Perú project, an initiative funded by the European Union that seeks to promote economic growth and the ecological transition of 300 coffee-producing SMEs in the central Peruvian jungle.
During the event, which brought together prominent specialists and leading organizations from Europe and Latin America, success stories were presented that demystify the idea that sustainability is at odds with commercial profitability. Michel Lapierre, Finnova Foundation's Director for Latin America, opened the forum highlighting the urgency of advancing towards "a more sustainable, circular, competitive, and inclusive model that not only reduces environmental impacts but also generates greater value and improves opportunities for those who make coffee possible from its origin". He also highlighted European funding opportunities such as the AL-INVEST Verde program and the European Green Deal to support this transition.
Soil, climate resilience, and circular solutions
One of the major milestones presented was the direct impact of the project in the Peruvian territory. Fredy Tueros, representative of descocentro, revealed that currently 95% of the production units participating in the project operate under agroforestry systems, integrating circularity right from the farm's design.
In terms of agricultural innovation, Ana María Ramírez, coffee value chain coordinator at Yara Colombia, presented unprecedented results. By using low-carbon footprint fertilizers driven by renewable energies, a project with female coffee growers managed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75% compared to the baseline, while simultaneously doubling production from 1.6 to 3.2 tons per hectare.
The transformation of waste into new business models was another core theme of the event. Raymundo Peralta, from CITE Agroindustrial Oxapampa, demonstrated how coffee pulp and husk (traditionally considered garbage) are being transformed by Peruvian SMEs into superfoods like flours with up to 50% dietary fiber, liquors, and energy drinks.
To tackle water pollution, Paul Mariñez presented KAISER's innovative anaerobic modular systems, which allow for the recovery of up to 98% of residual wastewater using only gravity, without the need for electric pumps. The European vision of circularity was brought by Carlos Ramos (FumiHogar), who presented the progress of the ECOFFEE project: collecting coffee grounds from the HORECA channel to convert them into ecological biocidal smoke and insect repellent, thus reducing reliance on synthetic chemicals.
Meanwhile, Juan Filgueira, senior consultant at Finnova, invited producers to understand the farm as a unique ecosystem, relying on Artificial Intelligence as an assistant to measure, regenerate soils, and optimize decision-making.
Global markets, traceability, and female empowerment
The forum also addressed the challenges of new international regulations. Experts like Janys Saavedra, international consultant, and Harold Cardona, from EAFIT University, debated the demands of the European Union Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR) and the imperative need to implement effective "data governance" that allows small producers to demonstrate the traceability of their crops without assuming unaffordable costs. Javier Hoyos, manager of Tecnicafé, complemented this vision by detailing technological efforts to bring digitalization to rural areas where internet coverage is still a limiting challenge.
The human component and social justice shone with the intervention of Viviana Narváez, representative of Tecnicafé's "Entre Amigas" network. Narváez highlighted the crucial role of women in the industry, noting that in the department of Cauca (Colombia), 30% of coffee farming leadership is female. This network promotes empowerment through education, fostering everything from specialized fermentation training to tasting competitions for girls and young women, thus guaranteeing generational renewal.
All the content of this enriching forum, its panels, and the exchange of experiences among attendees have been recorded for free dissemination. Those who wish to relive the day can do so asynchronously through the Finnova Foundation's official YouTube channel. In addition, the organization has extended an open invitation to the next virtual forum to be held next week, specifically focused on Agrotourism strategies.
About the Finnova Foundation:
Finnova is the European foundation that supports the financing of innovation in companies, regions, and municipalities. Its areas of expertise include sustainable development, the circular economy, water and waste management, ICT, and tourism, operating as a bridge to facilitate access to European funds for different actors in Latin America.
About descocentro:
Descocentro is a Peruvian non-governmental organization with extensive experience in promoting sustainable territorial development. It acts as the coordinating entity for the AL-INVEST Verde project in the Oxapampa-Asháninka-Yánesha Biosphere Reserve (BIOAY).
About AL-INVEST Verde:
It is a European Union program whose objective is to promote sustainable growth and job creation in Latin America, supporting the transition towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient, and more circular economy.