FEATURE NEWS GCP
Decoding sustainability GLOBAL COFFEE PLATFORM ON ITS REVISED COFFEE SUSTAINABILITY REFERENCE CODE, WHY THIS CHANGE WAS NECESSARY, AND THE IMPACT IT’S EXPECTED TO HAVE ON THE INDUSTRY.
D
espite a growing awareness of the need to build a sustainable coffee industry, the steps required to achieve it are not always as clear, which is why membership association Global Coffee Platform (GCP) has revised its reference code on the foundations to advance sustainability. Titled ‘The Coffee Sustainability Reference Code’, the code is designed to create a common language in the coffee industry on how to build the foundations for sustainable coffee production. It is centred on the three dimensions of economic prosperity, social wellbeing, and environmental responsibility and stewardship. Within each dimension, the code outlines several principles, practices, and expected results, listing baseline practices in the sustainable production and processing of coffee. “Through its 12 concrete principles, along with practices and expected results, it serves as a common language and guide for all coffee farmers, their business partners, and supporting
actors to continuously improve and advance their sustainability,” says Annette Pensel, Executive Director of GCP. The code also defines five critical practices: elimination of the worst forms of child labour, elimination of forced labour, no deforestation, no use of prohibited pesticides, and the newest addition, continuous improvement. For all the other practices, the expectation is that over time, through the implementation of time-bound actions plans, this level of sustainability is achieved. In particular, these
Global Coffee Platform hopes the code will be used by coffee farmers to assess their sustainable practices.
26
G C R | N OV E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2021
