A new global community for coffee

Nescafé, the world’s leading coffee brand, is at the forefront of another initiative that seeks to foster sustainability in the mainstream coffee sector.

It recently joined the global newly-established common code for the coffee community, otherwise known as 4C, a global initiative that seeks to address the social, environmental and economic issues involving the coffee industry.

"Nescafé has taken it upon itself to ensure that it adopt practices and join initiatives that will not only be beneficial to the company, but to all stakeholders involved in coffee production as well," says Bruno Olierhoek, Nestle Philippines Incorporated’s business executive manager for the coffee business unit.

The 4C Association

The 4C Association counts 40 stakeholders in coffee production, trade and industry, civil society, public organizations and individuals among its members. It is an independent, open and non-profit membership association that is based on this multi-stakeholder participation.

Its website, www.sustainable-coffee.net, outlines its mission as the following: "the efficient production and processing of coffee, combined with respect for the social and environmental conditions of its production, form the basis for improving the situation of coffee growers and workers worldwide."

This is done through programs that are "designed to optimize transparency and traceability along the whole coffee chain and to increase the awareness of individual responsibilities in the production, processing and trading of coffee."

4C-initiated projects have already been done in the coffee-producing countries of Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala and Ethiopia. Ongoing products are also being done in El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras and Vietnam.

The initiatives are undertaken to prepare the global coffee industry for increasing consumer demand as well as the quality of coffee products, its production and its trading methods.

The 4C code of conduct

In line with its mission, the members of the 4C Association came up with a code of conduct that outlines the practices that it will undertake to ensure sustainability in coffee production, post-harvest processing and trading.

It covers 30 social, environmental, and economic principles for all the people involved in the coffee supply chain. These include the farmers, plantation owners, coffee product manufacturers, exporters, and traders, among others.

Nescafé practices in line with the 4C code of conduct

Even before the establishment of the 4C, Nescafé has undertaken a number of programs that are beneficial to all the sectors addressed in the association’s code of conduct.

These include the Coffee-Based Sustainable Farming System (CBSFS), which helps farmers increase their income by allowing the planting of other crops alongside coffee.

Nescafé has been buying green coffee from coffee farmers for over 20 years. In 1986, it officially established satellite buying stations in key coffee-producing areas around the country including Davao, Iloilo, Isabela, Zamboanga, Cotabato, Agusan del Sur, Palawan, Tuguegarao, Solano, Bacolod, Bohol, Calamba, Alabang and Cavite.

Another Nescafé-initiated 4C-associated practice is the establishment of the Nestle Experimental and Demonstration Farm (NEDF). Here, farmers are trained on the proper way of growing coffee and how to best deal with weed problems. It reinforces the importance of good crop management as well as provides farmers with quality and high-yielding Robusta coffee planting materials.

To date, the NEDF provides 80 percent of all Robusta cuttings in the Philippines, with Nescafé currently sourcing its coffee from around 100,000 Filipino coffee farmers and 300,000 farm workers.

Nescafé is likewise at the forefront of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform in both Europe (through its mother company, Nestle Switzerland, S.A.) and the Philippines. The platform lays the groundwork for sustainable agriculture practices.

In November 2006, Nescafé led the First Philippine Convention on SAI. The event brought together the country’s leading food manufacturers, government agencies and non-government organizations concerned with food production.

"Nescafé joined these associations and initiated these platforms because it always believes that being socially responsible, environmentally-friendly and economically efficient in our coffee production is the best way we can produce quality products for everybody," concludes Olierhoek.