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Marketing Director David Hutchinson announced Costa’s plan to source all of its coffee from certified, sustainably managed farms by 2010 at the company’s national brand conference in Birmingham, UK, on Tuesday 8 April.

From September 2008 at least 30% of the coffee used in Costa’s unique Mocha Italia coffee blend, which forms the base of its coffee drinks, will come from certified sources, equal to about 1000 tonnes of green coffee over the course of a year.

And while UK consumers will be among the first to see the difference in store the change will have an international impact across Costa’s 1000 stores worldwide. The most recent store opened in Moscow, Russia, at the end of March 2008.

David Hutchinson said: “Costa is at the beginning of a journey towards greater sustainability in its business. We know it will take time to convert our supply base to certified sustainable sources but we believe it’s an investment that is right for our business, right for the coffee industry as a whole and we believe it’s a journey our customers will want to be part of.”

Rainforest Alliance President Tensie Whelan added: “We are delighted to work with Costa Coffee to bring sustainably sourced coffee to the UK’s leading high street coffee chain and to more coffee growing communities globally. Costa’s decision is demonstration of their commitment to not just quality coffee but also the quality of life of coffee communities.”