The publication of the Common Code for the Coffee Community hardly sounds like an event to get excited about. But it is – because it provides a rare example of a whole industry approach involving representatives of all parts of the supply chain working with the voluntary sector and government.
The publication of the Common Code for the Coffee Community hardly sounds like an event to get excited about. But it is – because it provides a rare example of a whole industry approach involving representatives of all parts of the supply chain working with the voluntary sector and government. Eighteen months-work by the producers, NGOs, government and the processors, crucially including four big processors Kraft, Nestlé, Sara Lee and Tchibo, has gone into the production of the Common Code. Between them these four companies buy 40% of the world’s green coffee. Effective buy-in from these significant firms means that the floor standards in the code ought to establish a reasonably level playing field within the industry.
Overall the code aims to achieve greater sustainability in the production, post-harvest processing and trading of green coffee. The intended impact is to improve environmental protection, living conditions for farmers and economic efficiency. One of the code’s great merits is that it recognises the importance of traceability. To reassure consumers the coffee manufacturers need to be able to trace their product back to as close to the point of origin as possible.
The code sets out a measurement framework for each of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of coffee production. Against each of thirty principles it defines good, acceptable and unacceptable practice. There is provision for verification and a set timeframe for correcting unacceptable practice. If the code proves a success then it could provide a robust framework for voluntary regulation of other commodities. For the moment, however, the code lacks teeth.
While welcome, the code cannot solve the fundamental problem of the industry: overproduction. The real price of coffee has been falling for the last half-century. This is fully explored in the Nestlé coffee report Faces of Coffee. Unless consumption increases then some of the 25 million people reliant upon coffee production will be priced out of the market. The code can improve conditions and sustainability but cannot reverse that unwelcome economic reality. Assisting marginal producers to diversify and leave the market is surely not a job solely for the industry but must also engage governments, international agencies and non-profit groups.
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