INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Evaluating the Costs and the Benefits of Sustainable Practices in the Coffee Sector

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)Start: 1990

 Start: 1990

Field of action: -  150 people in more than 30 countries

                            -  200 partner organizations

Created in 1990, the IISD is a Canadian research centre that supports innovation in favour of sustainable development. It has a team of over 150 people located in more than 30 countries.

In 2003, the centre took part in the launch of a partnership for sustainable coffee (the Sustainable Coffee Partnership – SCP) which gathers civil society, the coffee industry, the producers and governmental and inter-governmental agencies around the sustainable production and trade practices in the coffee sector.

Context

Today, a multitude of initiatives have objectives similar to those of fair trade. There is thus confusion both for the consumer who is witnessing the increase in the number of labels, and the producer who no longer knows which way to turn when he is selecting a certification organization. It is not uncommon for producers to lack clear and objective information on the many certifications that now exist on the market.

The COSA project

The COSA project is the first global project that evaluates sustainability (an intersection of the economic, social and environmental spheres) of practices and initiatives in matters of sustainable trade in the coffee sector. It allows a cost/benefit analysis of the adoption of or the conformity with sustainable practices. The instrument developed should allow every producer, co-operative, and so on to engage in the certification that is best adapted to him, according to specific local features. More particularly, the instrument will analyse the social, economic and environmental impact of the various certification systems (Fairtrade, Bio, Rainforest Alliance, Utz Certified, etc.) through a multicriteria analysis taking into account factors like salary level, working conditions, respect for workers’ rights, the risk connected to the activity, access to the market, managerial capacity, use of resources, the fight against pollution and respect for biodiversity.

The Fair Trade Centre supports the evaluation of the COSA project in Peru.

The project should eventually allow producers to select practices in sustainable development that suit them the best and to build a successful management that will respond adequately to the set social, environmental and economic objectives. The results of the project will also allow certification organizations to make possible changes to their criteria.