Project description

Title: Common Code for the Coffee Community (4C)
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ),
Country: international
Partner: Common Code for the Coffee Community Association
Overall term: 2002 to 2010

Context

Coffee is grown almost exclusively in developing countries, such as Viet Nam, Kenya, Brazil or Guatemala, but it is mainly consumed in industrialised countries. After oil, the aromatic coffee bean is the most widely traded raw material in the world. Wide swings in the price of green coffee and the great dependence of coffee growers on the market pose a permanent risk to more than 100 million people. Most vulnerable are small-scale farmers and farm workers and their families. Since competition is primarily determined by price, minimum standards for social conditions, ecological factors and quality are often overlooked during production. A growing demand for sustainably produced coffee and demands on the part of the industry for good quality provide a point of departure for improving coffee production. Existing standards programmes guaranteeing a high degree of sustainability have so far not been well suited to serving the needs of the mass market. Only a small percentage of coffee growers can meet these high standards and thus access greater marketing opportunities. If considerably more of the people who live from growing coffee are to have higher and above all more secure incomes, an approach is called for that would reach mass markets and be sustainable at the same time.

Objective

Greater sustainability is to be achieved for mass-market coffee through a code of conduct that applies globally and through corresponding support for the entire coffee sector. The socio-economic circumstances of small-scale coffee producers are to be improved through the introduction of standards, and through training on a large scale on how to apply them. The aim is to strengthen producer organisational structures, reduce the cost of coffee growing, improve the quality of the product and optimise operational flow along the value chain. These measures should enable producers to increase their incomes.

Approach

The Common Code for the Coffee Community (4C) was drawn up by GTZ in collaboration with representatives of the private and public sectors, important international organisations and representatives of producer countries, such as small-scale farmers from Guatemala or Kenya. Actors from more than 20 countries – from Brazil to Kenya to Viet Nam – coffee roasting companies such as Tchibo, Kraft Foods and Nestlé, coffee traders such as the Neumann Kaffee Gruppe, and also representatives of non-governmental organisations such as Oxfam and major Brazilian and Ugandan labour unions joined together to develop a system for greater sustainability in the coffee sector mass market.

This overall PPP process was financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Flemish International Cooperation Agency (FICA). The private partners were first the German and then the European Coffee Federation. GTZ took on the coordination and technical management of the project.

A code of conduct is only one element within the 4C concept. Another essential component is broad support for the coffee growers. All farmers who participate in 4C are supported in their efforts to conform to the code, for example with training measures or through access to information on good agricultural practices, which can be conveyed through training sessions or through exchange via internet platforms.

Meanwhile, the actors who had participated in developing the code of conduct joined with others to found an independent 4C association for greater sustainability in the coffee sector. Members of this association are coffee producers, coffee roasting companies, traders and civil society representatives. The 4C producers make a commitment to reject unacceptable practices, including, for instance, the more extreme forms of child labour or the deforestation of rain forests. In this way at least a minimum of sustainability is achieved. At the same time they also accept the obligation to improve their practices. The members from the industrial and trading sectors finance the association and purchase increasing amounts of coffee produced in accord with the 4C criteria. On behalf of the BMZ, GTZ promotes the Common Code for the Coffee Community as before. The focus is on support for small-scale farmers and the inclusion of state actors. As a broadly applicable minimum standard for the mass coffee market, 4C can provide a complementary tool to the demanding standards required, for example for Fair Trade, and support producers in taking the first steps toward sustainable production.

Results achieved so far

Throughout the world, more than 14,000 farmers now produce coffee in line with 4C standards on some 153,000 hectares, amounting to some 274,000 tonnes of coffee a year – a good four percent of global production. With the aid of new, improved planting techniques, production has become more efficient, and the quality of coffee has improved. In combination with better access to markets and the rising demand for sustainably produced coffee, this has led to an increase in the incomes of coffee farmers, in some areas by as much as 30 percent.

The farmers' organisational structures are also being strengthened, and they are gaining better access to financial services, since 4C promotes stable organisational structures and is considered a plus point by local banks. The process-oriented approach employed by 4C and the relatively low requirements of the 4C verification system compared to those of other well-known certification systems makes it easier for coffee farmers to join in 4C and to improve their methods steadily in the direction of sustainability. The coffee traders and the coffee industry also gain from 4C: they can better meet consumer demand through an ensured, long-term supply of coffee produced with growing respect for the environment and for human beings. Since 4C makes it possible for them to optimise their delivery chains, they achieve a more efficient value added process.

Membership in 4C now numbers 93, demonstrating 4C's attractiveness and continuing interest in the association. The members include the largest coffee roasting companies, traders and producer organisations, who represent the major portion of the global coffee sector. The demand for training measures remains strong as well.

Further information

• Common Code for the Coffee Community
  www.sustainable-coffee.net