A new satellite mapping alliance led by JDE Peet’s aims to help the coffee sector meet strict European Union deforestation rules by creating shared, high-resolution maps of coffee landscapes, starting with a vast pilot in East Africa. Announced in late April 2026 from Toulouse, France, the Coffee Canopy Partnership brings together major traders and roaster brands ahead of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) enforcement dates in 2026 and 2027.
According to an April 21 press release from Airbus, the initiative will use the company’s Pléiades (50 cm) and Pléiades Neo (30 cm) satellite constellations, combined with artificial intelligence models, to map coffee production areas at scale. Pilot deliveries began in April 2026 and will cover 1.2 million square kilometres across Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda, with a complete pilot dataset targeted for June 2026, MarketScreener reported.
The Partnership was initiated by JDE Peet’s, now part of Keurig Dr Pepper, and brings in traders and roaster brands including Louis Dreyfus Company, Sucden, Neumann Kaffee Gruppe, Touton, Sucafina and Tchibo, Coffee Geography Magazine reported on May 13. The project is supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and endorsed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which provides methodological guidance and quality assurance protocols for a 2020 baseline coffee map.
Under the EUDR, coffee grown on land classified as forest after 31 December 2020 may not enter EU markets, and non-compliance carries fines of at least 4% of a company’s turnover within the EU, sustainability outlet edie.net reported. Large operators must comply from 30 December 2026, while small firms face enforcement from June 2027, according to the same source.
The Coffee Canopy Partnership plans to create two core datasets: a 2020–2021 baseline map, designed in part to correct past misclassification of shade-grown or agroforestry coffee as forest, and a 2024–2025 update that tracks new production areas and forest change, Airbus and Coffee Geography Magazine reported. A joint statement from project partners cited by these outlets sets a target of worldwide coverage of all coffee-growing regions by 2027.
Laurent Sagarra, vice president engagement at JDE Peet’s, said the Partnership is intended to “move beyond fragmented, company-led deforestation initiatives by fostering collaboration at a landscape scale” and “map and safeguard coffee-growing regions, not just individual supply chains,” in comments reported by both Airbus and Engineering News. Sagarra described the project as “not another certification scheme” but a sector-led effort and invited “all players in the coffee sector” to join.
For producers, the timing intersects with persistent traceability gaps. Research from International Coffee Partners (ICP) cited in its readiness assessments indicates that 12.5 million smallholder coffee farmers produce up to 80% of global coffee, and a related ICP study found that in Uganda only about 10% of coffee producers currently have traceability. The International Coffee Organization has separately estimated that 80% of the world’s 25 million coffee farmers are smallholders.
Certification bodies and NGOs have warned that many of these farmers are not yet ready for EUDR requirements. A representative of the Rainforest Alliance, identified as Hohlfeld, told BeverageDaily in April 2026 that “in coffee, there is a need for more targeted programmes that help these farmers understand and implement EUDR compliance measures.” The same article reported that 65% of coffee in Rainforest Alliance certified supply chains is now aligned with EUDR, an increase of around 40% since the previous year.
Airbus’s head of space digital, Eric Even, said in the company’s press release that high-resolution imagery combined with advanced AI would help “identify deforestation risk and protect our world’s forests” while giving “food producers and smallholder farmers” the reliable data needed to strengthen supply chain resilience. JDE Peet’s, which reported 2025 total sales of €9.9 billion and a workforce of more than 21,000 employees, is positioning the Coffee Canopy Partnership as open to other companies and institutions, according to Airbus and Coffee Geography Magazine.
Alongside the corporate initiatives, a 2023 study by environmental group Global Canopy found that one in three companies had no public commitment to address deforestation in any key commodity, a figure referenced by edie.net in its coverage of EUDR preparations. That gap underscores the scale of change required as the EU deadlines approach and as the Coffee Canopy Partnership begins rolling out its maps beyond East Africa.
