The future of coffee depends on fresh ideas, new perspectives, and the next generation of industry leaders. In this interactive session, finalists of the SCTA Next Gen Sustainability Contest will present innovative projects and solutions designed to address some of the sector’s most pressing challenges.

From sustainability and technology to supply chain innovation and producer resilience, the finalists will showcase bold ideas with the potential to drive meaningful change across the coffee value chain. Following the presentations, a panel of judges and the audience will have the opportunity to engage with the finalists before the 2026 winner is announced at the SCTA Gala Dinner on Friday evening.

This workshop will demonstrate the full functionality of the ICE Commodity Traceability Platform (ICE CoT) and how it supports users in achieving EUDR compliance. Designed as a trusted interface for both Sellers and Buyers, ICE CoT enables users to verify all aspects of EUDR: farm location and deforestation checks, supply chain information, legality and risk assessments, risk mitigation measures, and submission of due diligence statements. Attend this hands-on session to see ICE CoT in action and learn how to navigate EUDR with confidence. The platform is the approved due diligence tool for ICE Exchanges and is also available to the wider commercial market.

In a world of geopolitical disruption, shifting trade flows, and growing market volatility, logistics has become more than an operational function – it is a strategic differentiator. As supply chains face increasing pressure to be faster, more resilient, and more transparent, the coffee sector must rethink how goods, data, and decisions move across the globe.

This panel will explore how the industry can move beyond reactive crisis management towards smarter, more connected supply chains. From ports and shipping routes to data, forecasting, and risk management, speakers will share practical insights on improving flow, building resilience, and creating competitive advantage in an increasingly unpredictable world.

Coffee is in structural transition to surplus, but a washed-arabica shortage and Brazil’s delayed harvest kept the nearby market tight and differentials firm. With the arb beginning to shif demand to robusta, weather across the key origins determines the next leg.

Fresh from its premiere at the Festival de Cannes, Groundswell brings regenerative agriculture to the big screen through a powerful, solution-focused narrative narrated by Demi Moore and featuring Woody Harrelson. The film explores how regenerative practices can restore ecosystems, strengthen farming communities, and contribute to climate resilience.

Following the screening, a fireside conversation with the filmmakers and industry leaders will examine the role of storytelling in driving change—and the challenge of turning inspiration into action. Can compelling narratives help accelerate the transition from promising pilot projects to scalable business solutions? And what will it take to embed regenerative agriculture into the commercial realities of global supply chains?

This workshop discussion explores how Uganda as Africa’s leading coffee exporter is strengthening traceability, advancing sustainability practices and unlocking value addition opportunities across its coffee value chain. The discussion will highlight how transparent sourcing and climate-smart production are positioning Ugandan coffee to meet evolving market expectations while creating shared value for producers, buyers and partners across the value chain. It will also showcase emerging investment opportunities in value addition at origin. Join this session to gain practical insights into Uganda’s traceability and sustainability strategies, partnership opportunities and opportunities engage with one of the world’s most dynamic coffee origins.

Human rights due diligence has become a business and regulatory expectation across global supply chains. Yet as companies invest increasing resources into policies, reporting, and risk management systems, a fundamental question remains: are these efforts delivering meaningful improvements in people’s lives? Are we creating real change, or simply becoming better at demonstrating compliance?

Bringing together leaders from industry, government, and civil society, this panel will explore how the coffee sector can move beyond compliance and focus on impact. The discussion will examine what is working in practice, where gaps remain, and how successful initiatives can evolve from isolated pilot projects into scalable approaches that deliver lasting change.

Ultimately, the panel will ask what it takes to turn shared commitments into measurable progress for the people and communities at the heart of the coffee value chain.

As EUDR moves from policy to implementation, the challenge is no longer simply compliance—it is coordination. Across the coffee sector, companies, governments, and solution providers have invested heavily in tools, data, and traceability systems. Yet fragmentation, inconsistent risk assessments, and uneven adoption continue to create uncertainty and complexity.

This panel will explore what it will take to move from fragmented approaches to practical, scalable implementation. Bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, producing-country representatives, and technical experts, the discussion will examine how the sector can build greater alignment around data, risk assessment, and implementation models that work for both companies and producing countries.

At the heart of the conversation lies a critical question: how do we create systems that are trusted, interoperable, and inclusive—rather than a patchwork of competing solutions? From shared reference data and post-competitive collaboration to smallholder inclusion and regulatory realism, the panel will explore how EUDR can become a catalyst for stronger and more connected supply chains rather than another source of fragmentation.

Collective action has been a perennial challenge for the coffee sector for decades — yet it still struggles to move beyond isolated pilots at origin to enabling broader impact. As the sector navigates rapidly evolving geopolitical shifts, regulatory pressures, and market realignment, the question is no longer whether collective action is valuable, but why it hasn’t materialized at scale, and what needs to change.

Join the Global Coffee Platform (GCP), representatives from national public-private platforms in Brazil and Uganda, and global industry leaders to confront this gap head-on. The conversation will examine the structural foundations required for coordination — including Country Platforms — and what buy-in, roles, and incentives are needed from private and public actors to de-risk the transition to a stronger, more resilient coffee sector for all.

Drawing lessons and best practices from a decade of coordinating collective responses at the policy, market and community levels, the panel will compare experiences across regions and market actors to ask: what will it actually take to overcome the barriers that have kept collective action from reaching scale?

Procurement sits at the intersection of ambition and reality—where sustainability commitments meet the commercial decisions that shape how coffee is sourced, traded, and valued. As expectations around farmer livelihoods, human rights, and environmental resilience continue to grow, procurement teams are increasingly being asked to balance commercial performance with broader sustainability objectives.

This panel will explore the evolving role of procurement in the coffee sector and the influence sourcing decisions can have on outcomes across the value chain. Bringing together perspectives from business, origin, finance, and civil society, the discussion will examine how responsible sourcing is being integrated into commercial decision-making, what challenges remain, and how market incentives, pricing, and risk management shape outcomes on the ground.

Rather than focusing on what individual companies can achieve alone, the panel will consider how procurement fits within the wider system—and what kinds of partnerships, incentives, and approaches are needed to translate shared ambition into meaningful and scalable progress at sector level.

The European Coffee Federation brings together the companies and national associations shaping Europe’s coffee sector, with Brussels at the centre of our work, where much of the legislation affecting coffee is conceived, negotiated and implemented. The scale of the sector makes that engagement increasingly important: new research by Europe Economics shows that coffee supports around 1.5 million direct full-time equivalent jobs and generates €84.4 billion in direct GVA across the EU27. This session will introduce ECF’s role in representing and connecting the coffee value chain and provide a practical overview of the regulatory agenda we are navigating, including EUDR, the Forced Labour Regulation, pesticides and evolving MRL policy, Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition, and packaging under PPWR, while showing how ECF helps members anticipate, understand and influence what comes next.

Rainforest Alliance will present key findings from 2018-2025 Nescafe Plan monitoring and evaluation data, highlighting the adoption, outcomes, and impact of regenerative agriculture practices across coffee supply chains. Building on these insights, a panel discussion featuring sustainability leaders will explore how organizations can effectively measure, demonstrate, and scale sustainability program success. The workshop will conclude with a forward-looking discussion on the critical role of robust, scalable monitoring systems in enabling transparent reporting, substantiating credible sustainability claims, driving continuous improvement, and accelerating sector-wide transformation toward more resilient and regenerative coffee production.

The global demand landscape for coffee is changing rapidly. New consumption markets are emerging, consumer preferences are evolving, and broader shifts in demographics, lifestyles, health, and sustainability are reshaping how and why people consume coffee. At the same time, developments in financial markets, agricultural commodities, and global trade flows are influencing prices, investment decisions, and commercial strategy.

Bringing together experts in market intelligence, consumer research, finance, trade, and supply, this panel will explore where future demand growth is likely to come from and what it means for the global green coffee trade. From the rise of Asia to changing consumption patterns in traditional markets and the growing popularity of coffee-adjacent beverages, the discussion will examine the trends shaping the next generation of consumers—and whether the supply side is ready to respond.

As demand evolves, how must the supply side respond? What opportunities and risks do these shifts create for the global coffee sector in the decade ahead?

This interactive discussion, organized by International Coffee Partners (ICP), brings together practitioners, private sector actors, and conference participants to reflect on lessons learned from more than 25 years of experience in farmer-centered development across coffee-producing regions.

The focus is on smallholder farming families, their needs and potential, and strengthening their agency through strong producer organizations, supportive local ecosystems, and collective action. The session explores how the coffee sector can create more resilient livelihoods, stronger communities, and sustainable supply chains at scale.

As the Forum draws to a close, SCTA leadership will reflect on the key insights, opportunities, and challenges that emerged over the previous two days. In a world defined by uncertainty and change, what will it take to turn ambition into action, complexity into progress, and shared challenges into collective opportunity?

This forward-looking conversation will explore the leadership, collaboration, and vision needed to build a more resilient, innovative, and future-ready coffee sector and challenge participants not just to respond to the future, but to help shape it.

Coffee is a long-term crop traded in a fast-moving market, yet critical decisions on planting, renovation, investment and processing are still often made with incomplete or inaccessible information. This ICO-led seminar will combine a live demonstration of the new ICO Coffee Market Intelligence Platform with a focused panel discussion on the data the sector still needs. It will explore how stronger market intelligence, modelling and digital tools can help farmers, businesses and policymakers anticipate supply-and-demand shifts, manage risk and make better-informed investment and policy decisions.

This session will introduce the SCA’s work towards a new standard for green coffee grading, specifications and testing. Discover the thinking behind the evolving approach and what it could mean for assessing green coffee quality and supporting greater consistency across the trade.