The Sustainable Commodity Initiative: Coffee Activities

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Juniper Phillips
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UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT UNCTAD Expert Meeting "Enabling small commodity producers in developing countries to reach global markets" Organized by UNCTAD Commodities Branch

1 UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT UNCTAD Expert Meeting "Enabling small commodity producers in developing countries to reach global markets" Organized by UNCTAD Commodities Branch Web: December 2006 The Sustainable Commodity Initiative: Coffee Activities by Mr. Christopher Wunderlich Assistant Co-ordinator, Sustainable Commodity Initiative The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the UNCTAD Secretariat, nor do they imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the secretariat of UNCTAD concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of this authorities or concerning the definition of its frontiers or boundaries.

CONFÉRENCE DES NATIONS UNIES SUR LE COMMERCE ET LE DÉVELOPPEMENT UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT THE SUSTAINABLE COMMODITY INITITIATIVE: COFFEE ACTIVITIES The United Nations

the fundamental link between commodities and sustainable development.

2 CONFÉRENCE DES NATIONS UNIES SUR LE COMMERCE ET LE DÉVELOPPEMENT UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT THE SUSTAINABLE COMMODITY INITITIATIVE: COFFEE ACTIVITIES The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) launched the Sustainable Commodity Initiative (SCI) in December 2002 in recognition of the fundamental link between commodities and sustainable development. The principal objective of the SCI is to improve the social, environmental and economic sustainability of commodities production and trade by developing global multi-stakeholder strategies on a sector-by-sector basis. I. Overview of Sustainable Coffee Partnership : During a major multi-stakeholder meeting held in December of 2003 at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, there was a call for the establishment of a multi-stakeholder platform to develop support for sustainability in the coffee sector on a broad basis. This initiative has taken form under the Sustainable Coffee Partnership an initiative which builds on and incorporates existing sustainability initiatives to identify common challenges and opportunities among them on the understanding that sustainability is, ultimately, both a coherent and transparent path over the long term, regardless of any specific differences which various initiatives may emphasize. A key feature of the Partnership is its emphasis on the need for global cooperation in the development of a global approach. With more than 50 producing countries and as many consuming countries, the coffee sector is truly global. Similarly, the sustainability challenges facing the sector are deeply linked to global coffee markets and supply chains no single actor, or group of actors, can be expected to change the sector towards sustainability without the support of others along the supply chain and across the market. With this in mind the specific objectives of the Partnership are to: Promote information exchange and sharing among existing sustainability initiatives and projects Promote enhanced cooperation among existing stakeholders towards greater sustainability Promote greater transparency on the costs, benefits and impacts of diverse sustainability approaches Development of a supportive "infra-structure" for sustainable production and trading practices including: 1. Coordination of the development of a generic toolbox of concrete instruments needed for implementing sustainable practices on the ground 2. Promotion of policies which promote market-based sustainability initiatives at the national, regional and global levels 3. Mobilization of resources for the implementation of sustainable production and trading practices The Partnership does not "subscribe" to any particular sustainability initiative but rather promotes the adoption of sustainable supply chain practices as identified by the diverse initiatives in existence recognizing that most initiatives are based on parallel approaches which can be integrated into, and served by, a generic strategy for the sector. A critical component of the Partnership's efforts focus on helping producers take advantage of such 1

3 systems where feasible and appropriate by building capacity with producer groups. II. Management Structure of the Partnership: The Partnership is facilitated jointly by UNCTAD and IISD. Actual work under the Partnership is conducted through two levels of cooperation: A. The Partnership Steering Committee: The Steering Committee is made up of representatives of major stakeholder groups implicated in the coffee supply chain. The task of the Steering Committee is to determine the strategic priorities for promoting sustainable trade and production practices throughout the coffee sector. The Steering Committee meets four times a year, with work between meetings conducted through more specialized committees. Decisions are based on consensus, except when agreement is not possible, in which case, decisions are made by a majority vote. Over the past year, the Steering Committee has worked with the ICO in its consideration of the formation of a Sustainability Committee, identified project priorities for the Partnership and begun organization for the first global Sustainable Coffee Forum. At present the Partnership has a steering committee made up of: Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD) Christophe Montagnon Common Code for the Coffee Community Initiative (CCCC) Carsten Schmitz Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) Chantal Line Carpentier East African Fine Coffee Association- Robert Nsbirwa Embrapa (Brazil)- Garbriel Bartolo European Coffee Federation- Roel Vaessen FEDECOCAGUA/ANACAFE (Guatemala)-Gerardo Alberto de Leon Federacion Nacional de Cafeteleros (FNC) Diego Pizano Inter African Coffee Association-Josefa Sacko International Coffee Organization (ICO) Pablo Dubois Junta Nacional de Café de Peru (JNC)-Lorenzo Castillo Karnataka Growers Federation ( India)-Pradeep Nandipur OXFAM/Global Alliance on Coffee and Commodities (GLACC) Constantino Casasbuenas Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform Emeline Fellus Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) Chris Wille Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) Phyllis Johnson State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Switzerland- Daniel Birchmeier (Observer) Technoserve David Browning United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Olle Ostensson United Stated Agency for International Development (USAID) Carol Wilson World Bank Guido Fernandez B. Thematic Project-based Cooperation: During the spring of 2005 the Steering Committee identified three thematic areas for project development: Information Exchange on Sustainability Programmes, Practices and Markets; Improved Efficiency in Implementation of Sustainable Practices; Financing for Sustainable Practices. Taskforce groups were established to identify project priorities under each thematic area. Each taskforce group produced a concept note which was subsequently approved by the Steering Committee. Following the identification of project priorities, IISD and UNCTAD have been facilitating joint stakeholder discussions and cooperation in the development and promotion 2

4 of projects designed to fit the identified priorities. The discussions are animated and driven by stakeholder interest and participation is open to all. To date we have multi-stakeholder project development under way with respect to the following projects: Cost benefit research on major sustainability programs and practices Harmonized implementation program for diverse standards systems Sustainable coffee guarantee facility (for financing sustainable production) Financial literacy toolbox Web-based information exchange among financial service providers Market information on sustainable markets III. Brief description of projects currently being developed by the Partnership: Sustainable Coffee Forum 1 Both the Information Exchange Taskforce and the Implementation Taskforce of the Sustainable Coffee Partnership identified a strong need for better delivery of information and training on the many sustainability initiatives operative in the coffee sector. Moreover, both taskforce groups noted the potential synergies available by combining information dissemination with training activities. With this in mind the Partnership has facilitated discussions among several interested parties in towards the piloting of a series of training/information dissemination sessions using a generic, module-based approach. Current parties involved in the coordination of the Sustainable Coffee Forum include: DEFRA, Rainforest Alliance, OXFAM and the Commission for Environmental Cooperation. The COSA Project: Impact Analysis of Sustainability Initiatives One of the project priorities identified under the Implementation Taskforce was the need for a project analyzing the costs and benefits of the different sustainability initiatives. Following this priority, we have developed a proposal outline for carrying out a major cost-benefit analysis across 6 standards in the coffee sector over a three year period. The project is currently being managed by CIRAD, CIMS and IISD which has been operating under the name of COSA Committee on Standards Assessment. We have received input from representatives of CCCC, USAID, ICO, Utz Kapeh, OXFAM, Rainforest Alliance, Technoserve, Wangenengen University, SAI Platform and ISEAL in the preparation of the proposal. The approach to be taken by this project will avoid any global ranking of individual programs, focusing instead on the concrete costs and benefits associated with the individual elements (practices and corresponding implementation systems) associated with each program. The project will also draw on the results and lessons learned from our current GAP analysis work with NKG. In order to ensure objectivity, relevance and impartiality, the project has both an interested party advisory committee and scientific research committee both of which will contribute to the development of the methodology for the project. Financing Alliance for Sustainable Trade (FAST) Following the discussions under the Financing Taskforce, a set of four project priorities for promoting better access to credit for those producers adopting sustainable practices were identified. We have developed a global financing proposal which outlines the first steps for implementation of three of the four project priorities identified under the taskforce. In particular, the proposal outlines activities for: 1. the establishment of a guarantee facility for loans to farmers adopting sustainable practices 2. The development of a financial literacy toolbox for improving efficiency in producer training 1 A pilot project of the Sustainable Agriculture Forum coordinated by the IISD/UNCTAD Sustainable Commodity Initiative. 3

5 on financial matters and 3. The establishment of a web site for: a. enabling more efficient producer access to financing information and b. enabling the sharing of due diligence reports and other information among financial service providers More than 20 groups participated in the development of the pre-proposal. The taskforce in now in the process of establishing and association under the name of the Financing Alliance for Sustainable Trade or FAST. Volunteer Support Program for Sustainable Practice-East Africa Following the EAFCA Annual Convention earlier this year, and in particular, the workshop on sustainability initiatives co-organized by IISD within that context, a clear indication of African producer interests and needs with respect to the implementation of sustainable practices was identified. On the one hand, the workshop provided a foundation for the development of EAFCA s statement on sustainability presented at the last ICO meeting. On the other hand, it provided the inspiration for initial discussions towards the development of a project aimed a providing human resource support, farmer field schools and related technical assistance for the rolling out of sustainable practices within the East African context. This project, which is being developed in coordination with Volunteer Services Overseas and EAFCA, is presently at its conceptual stage. Facilitation on Policy Discussion The Sustainable Coffee Partnership has facilitated several discussions on the potential integration of sustainability objectives more explicitly within the context of a new International Coffee Agreement. At the most recent Council meeting of the ICO, the SCP coordinated a stakeholders panel which allowed diverse stakeholder to present their perspectives on different areas for integrating sustainability objectives within the ICA. The SCP has also prepared a background document for consideration by relevant parties in the negotiation of the ICA. It can be accessed at: Information Exchange The Information Taskforce emphasized the need for: a. increased market information on sustainability initiatives and b. increased access to existing information (particularly for producers). With this in mind we have undertaken the following work: 1. A survey of lessons learned from sustainability initiatives in the coffee sector at the global level 2. Design and development of a web-page for the Sustainable Coffee Partnership and a newsletter on sustainability initiatives and issues within the coffee sector. 3. Collaboration with CIMS in the development of a market report for sustainable coffees entitled Eco- Café which, we hope can serve as a model for similar reports in other producing regions. For more information about this initiative please visit: Or contact: Jason Potts Coordinator: Sustainable Commodity Initiative International Institute for Sustainable Development jpotts@iisd.ca Chris Wunderlich- Assistant Coordinator-IISD cwunderlich@iisd.ca Olle Ostensson Chief: Commodities Branch United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Olle.ostensson@unctad.org 4

Draft Document: Not for Distribution SUSTAINABLE COFFEE PARTNERSHIP: OUTLINE OF STRUCTURE AND APPROACH

Draft Document: Not for Distribution SUSTAINABLE COFFEE PARTNERSHIP: OUTLINE OF STRUCTURE AND APPROACH CONFÉRENCE DES NATIONS UNIES SUR LE COMMERCE ET LE DÉVELOPPEMENT UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT SUSTAINABLE COFFEE PARTNERSHIP: OUTLINE OF STRUCTURE AND APPROACH 1.0 Rationale and Overview