Sara Lee unveils sustainability plan for coffee business

UTRECHT, Netherlands — Sara Lee announced that it would boost its coffee business with a five-year sustainable commodity initiative.

By 2015, the company said it will have more than 20% of its entire annual coffee volume certified sustainable.

"Sara Lee's long-term goal is to use only certified coffee and tea in all products worldwide, and this new aggressive five-year plan is a very important step in accelerating our progress," said Frank van Oers, CEO of Sara Lee's international beverage and bakery businesses. "By providing coffee growers visibility five years out and publicly committing to buy very large quantities of certified coffee, we can contribute to improve sustainability in the mainstream coffee market worldwide."