The more Guayakí Yerba Mate you enjoy, the more impact you make. We call it Market Driven Regeneration™ and it’s at the heart of everything we do.
Read the reportSocial Impact
Restore human connection by sharing a gourd
Support indigenous peoples’ sovereignty
Advance equity by employing formerly incarcerated
Educate youth about regeneration
Amplify change makers
Ecological Impact
Prevent rainforest deforestation
Draw down carbon into forests and soils
Protect water supplies and biodiversity
Prevent air pollution with electric fleet
We believe in using business as a force for good.
We also believe that customers can, and should be, empowered to advance social change with their purchases. Imagine the world we could create if both of those forces could work together.
WHAT DOESN’T WORK
To drive change, we first need to throw out old models of doing business that do more harm than good.
Discretionary giving that takes a back seat to corporate profits? That’s got to go. Extractive contracts that offer the lowest price to farmers and feed destructive land practices? Not going to last very long. Squeezing the life out of workers while concentrating wealth at the top? Definitely out.
FOUR REGENERATIVE PILLARS
Our regeneration strategy stems from our four Regenerative Pillars, a framework to ensure we meet planetary needs and our vision to regenerate ecosystems and create vibrant communities. The Pillars bring our vision to life, from Taking Responsibility for our Footprint to Practicing Conscious Leadership.
Only with uncompromising change can we live within the limits of our “planetary boundaries” and achieve the shared blueprint for peace and prosperity adopted by United Nations Member States, like the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. Ambitious targets, changing the status quo, and reflective adjusting and evolving are the building blocks to developing that world we imagined together.
A STRATEGY FOR REGENERATION
To enable customers to fuel change with their purchases of Guayakí Yerba Mate, we internalized our impact into our business model. We call it Market Driven Regeneration. It starts with our sourcing strategy for yerba mate, which is the cornerstone of the Guayakí Yerba Mate brand and our regenerative impact.
We develop long-term partnerships with Indigenous communities and small farmers to harvest yerba mate from the rainforest and forested farmland at fair trade prices. Guayakí Yerba Mate purchases fund their economic sovereignty and land stewardship, which prevents further deforestation of critical forests under threat from political and economic forces.
Our governing structures provide another means to guarantee impact. We chose a Social Purpose Corporation legal structure to direct the business to create social and environmental value in addition to economic value. We also choose investors that align with our vision by focusing on long-term impact rather than only short-term profits.
A final foundational element of our business model is direct relationships with the market. Through immersive experiences with the Guayakí Yerba Mate brand, customers connect with the brand vision and yerba mate tradition of service and friendship.
Guayakí’s self-distribution arm, The Yerba Mate Co, allows direct influence over product quality and service furthering our regenerative efforts from seed to shelf. Delivery of product through a fleet of electric vehicles cuts emissions and air pollution in the last critical mile of distribution. The Yerba Mate Co also aims for social regeneration, through hiring and training the formerly incarcerated and others held back by historic and systemic oppression. Intentional hiring is vitally important given the barriers to an inclusive economy.
DRINK GUAYAKÍ YERBA MATE AND DRIVE CHANGE
Your choice of Guayakí Yerba Mate drives real change, because the regeneration of people and planet is integrated into our business model. TOGETHER, we are regenerating ecosystems and creating vibrant communities, while changing the way business is done. TOGETHER, we can Come To Life!