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Touching on some of the environmental risks that coffee poses to CR is important to consider when accessing the success of the coffee industry as a whole. As we have learned, it is not good enough anymore to just be successful from a profit point of view and that companies should now be accessed on their relationship with the environment. In the case of the coffee industry as a whole including in CR, there are a few main problems. These problems include, soil erosion, fresh water contamination, and deforeststation.

Both water contamination and soil erosion are caused in general, by the same thing. In the case of water contamination, rain water runoff carries pesticides and other chemicals sprayed on coffee plants to the fresh water streams and rivers of CR. Also, the growth of coffee results in a large amount of organic waste. Though the organic waste does not seem like a bad problem, it is quickly becoming one. When the waste is deposited, it too runs of into the fresh waters where it promotes plant growth which results in the depletion of oxygen. This depletion kills a lot of the natural wildlife that exists in the rivers and streams.

Soil erosion is also becoming an increasingly problematic side effect of growing coffee. It is believed that up to 2/3 of the land Costa Rica uses for animal pastures and agriculture is at a very high risk of erosion. Since coffee is a permanent crop that requires lots of water and for the most part leaves soil unprotected, the areas where it is grown often see hydro-soil erosion occur.

Lastly, deforestation is also something that should be considered when examining the success of the coffee industry. With demand so high for coffee, more and more biodiverse rain forest is being cleared for the planting of coffee plantations. With coffee plants requiring direct sunlight, areas where it is to be grown are often cleared down to the ground. This clearing results not only in the loss of the trees and other plant life but also in the the loss of animal diversity by their habitats being destroyed. According Chris Willey of Rainforest Alliance, "the monoculture of coffee is replacing the most diverse ecosystem on earth".

The problems that coffee growing pose must be addressed. The industry can not be successful in the mindset of environmental sustainability unless the problems stated above are fixed. Solutions must be found by the industry setting its own regulations along with governments setting regulations. Together, the harmful effects of coffee can be stopped and a new trend of being an entirely eco-friendly industry can begin.