UNDP and Lavazza expand Ecuador partnership for resilient coffee and water

The UNDP and Lavazza Foundation unveiled an expanded July 2025 partnership to deliver clean water and scale climate-resilient coffee in Ecuador's Chinchipe and Palanda cantons. The deforestation-free supply-chain model offers a blueprint for private-sector climate action relevant to Indian agri-commodity exporters facing similar sourcing scrutiny.

The United Nations Development Programme and the Lavazza Foundation announced an expanded partnership, unveiled in July 2025, to advance sustainable coffee production and safe water access in southern Ecuador, building on the ProAmazonía programme. Focusing on the coffee-producing cantons of Chinchipe and Palanda, the initiative will support over 5,000 students and 400 teachers by installing innovative water filtration systems in schools, alongside environmental education campaigns, school infrastructure upgrades, and community engagement, expected to reduce absenteeism and strengthen rural livelihoods linked to sustainable agriculture.

Rural coffee-growing communities, schools, students, and teachers in Chinchipe and Palanda are directly affected, gaining water filtration and education infrastructure. Lavazza's supply-chain regions benefit through climate-resilient agriculture, with the Italo-Latin American International Organization (IILA) joining as a technical partner for water-system installations. The Lavazza Foundation will, for the first time, route funding directly through UNDP, marking a milestone in public-private cooperation. Their efforts led to the 2024 launch of Ecuador's first deforestation-free coffee batch in Torino, Italy, recognised in Ecuador's updated Nationally Determined Contribution.

UNDP and Lavazza plan to replicate the model in other countries, tailoring it to local climate contexts and development priorities, and will showcase the collaboration at high-level platforms including the UN General Assembly and COP30 in Brazil. Stakeholders should monitor how the deforestation-free coffee benchmark unlocks market value and informs NDC alignment. Agri-commodity firms should track this public-private blueprint for grounding sustainability commitments in local action, water access, and supply-chain resilience while building global visibility for scalable climate solutions.

Key figure — Beneficiaries: over 5,000 students and 400 teachers across Chinchipe and Palanda