The future of coffee depends on the health of the land it grows on. Around the world, the tropical regions that produce coffee are facing rising temperatures, degraded soils, and increasingly unpredictable growing seasons. Regenerative agriculture offers a way forward and Regenerative Organic Certified® (ROC®) is the most rigorous standard for verifying it. At Equator Coffees, we've been part of the regenerative coffee movement since its very first harvest.
What Regenerative Organic Certified® Means
Regenerative agriculture is a holistic approach to farming that treats the farm as a living system where soil, plants, animals, and people are interconnected and vital. Rather than simply avoiding harm, regenerative farming actively rebuilds soil health, promotes biodiversity, and draws carbon out of the atmosphere.
Regenerative Organic Certified® was established in 2017 by the Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA), a group of farmers, business leaders, and experts in soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness. Built on existing organic standards, ROC® expands them to champion three pillars:
- Soil Health & Land Management
- Animal Welfare
- Farmer & Worker Fairness
Farms are certified at Bronze, Silver, or Gold levels, creating a pathway for continuous improvement. This all-encompassing certification formalizes a level of accountability that is vital to ensuring the future of agriculture and our planet.
Why Regenerative Coffee Matters
Climate change is disproportionately affecting the tropical and subtropical regions where coffee is grown*:
- 50% of global land area suitable for coffee production may be lost by 2050 due to climate change
- 60% of coffee species are considered at high risk of extinction
- 25M smallholder coffee growers are at risk of losing their primary source of income due to declining coffee yields
Regenerative farming practices build resilience against these threats. Healthy, living soils retain more water, withstand drought and erosion, and support the shade-grown agroforestry systems in which coffee naturally thrives. For coffee-growing communities, regenerative agriculture is a practical tool for protecting farms, incomes, and the future of coffee itself.
Traditional, shade-grown coffee is the perfect expression of regeneration. Learning about and specializing in this during my graduate studies signified a pivotal turning point in my life and career, making regenerative organic coffee particularly near and dear to my heart. When you see the ROC® label, consumers know for a fact that they are supporting farms that meet the highest production standards for the environment, animals, and people involved. We are thrilled for ROC Equator Coffees to hit our local shelves!
- Elizabeth Whitlow, Executive Director of the Regenerative Organic Alliance
A First in Coffee
In spring 2022, Cooperativa de Servicios Múltiples Sacaclí (Cooperativa Sacaclí) in Nicaragua became the first coffee producer in the world to harvest a Regenerative Organic Certified® crop. Already organic and Fair Trade certified, the cooperative pursued ROC® Bronze-level certification to protect the future of its members and the planet against the effects of climate change.
We were proud to partner with Cooperativa Sacaclí to bring that harvest to market as the first Regenerative Organic Certified® coffee ever commercially available. It was a milestone in a 25+ year commitment to partners at every link in the supply chain—the same commitment that made us the first coffee company in California to become B Corp certified in 2011.
Bringing ROC® to a Best-Selling Blend
In 2025, we brought the regenerative revolution to one of our best-selling coffees, re-introducing our French Roast Blend - Regenerative Organic Certified®. The blend now consists entirely of coffees grown using regenerative farming practices that revitalize soil health, promote biodiversity, and fight climate change.
Together with expanded distribution of seasonal ROC® coffees to our grocery partners, this change has brought greater visibility to this incredible certification and its mission.
Every certification is a step in the path towards a sustainable and equitable coffee value chain. Equator has a long-term commitment to directly sourced, organic, and fair-trade coffees; Regenerative Organic Certified® is the logical next step. As a business owner I feel a responsibility to every one of our stakeholders to ensure that our business has a positive impact on the world. We must act now to ensure the future of coffee and all agriculture. Holistic solutions like ROC® practices are vital to preserving our planet and the farms of our coffee growing partners.
- Helen Russell, Co-founder of Equator Coffees
Our Regenerative Organic Certified® Partner Farms
Colombia — Asociación de Productores Agropecuarios de Santa Rosa (ASPRASAR)
ASPRASAR is a family-owned producer organization with 94 members in and around the town of Saldaña, in Colombia's Tolima department. Founded in 2016, the association partners with export company Lohas Beans to reach the specialty coffee market—a relationship that has increased members' incomes and given them access to technical support and innovative processing methods. ASPRASAR is also Fair Trade Certified.
Peru — La Prosperidad de Chirinos
La Prosperidad de Chirinos is a coffee growers' cooperative in northern Peru's San Ignacio province, high in the Andes of the Cajamarca growing region. Founded in 1968, the cooperative has grown from 36 to over 700 members and works to improve their quality of life through education, sustainability initiatives, and food security programs. Chirinos is also Fair Trade certified.
Nicaragua — Cooperativa de Servicios Múltiples Sacaclí
Established in 1994, Cooperativa Sacaclí brings together more than 500 small-scale farmers in the rural communities of Jinotega in north-central Nicaragua. Organic and Fair Trade certified since 2016, the cooperative pursued ROC® certification after witnessing the effects of climate change firsthand, earning Bronze-level certification for its coffee and bananas. Sacaclí is now evaluating investments to move toward Silver and Gold certification in future audits.
Shopping for Regenerative Organic Coffee
When you choose a coffee bearing the ROC® seal, you're supporting farms held to the highest bar in agriculture—for the soil, for animals, and for the people who grow your coffee.
The easiest place to start is our French Roast Blend - Regenerative Organic Certified®, a dark, smoky favorite now made entirely from regeneratively grown coffees. Throughout the year we also release seasonal ROC® single origins from our partner farms in Colombia, Peru, and Nicaragua, and you'll find all of our USDA and ROC® certified coffees in our Certified Organic Collection.
*Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability