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Providing independent, credible and innovative solutions for sustainable supply chains

4C Project Portfolio

 

Impact-driven beyond certification: 4C develops projects to mitigate environmental and social issues in collaboration with various coffee supply chain actors and to improve the livelihoods of smallholder coffee farmers.

Get acquainted with some of our projects below. If you are looking for a way to improve the sustainability footprint of the coffee supply chains, please contact us.


Improving Biodiversity in Coffee Landscapes in Vietnam

Up to one million plant and animal species face extinction due to increasing deforestation rates, climate change, pollution and other human activities. Improving biodiversity performance on coffee farms not only serves nature protection, but is also the basis for sustainable, successful, and climate change resilient coffee production. 4C, in cooperation with the Lake Constance Foundation, Agriculture and Forestry Research & Development Center for Mountainous Region (ADC), Vinh Hiep Gia Lai Co., Ltd and Fundación Humedales, started a joint project to improve biodiversity in coffee landscapes in Vietnam. To achieve this objective, the Biodiversity Performance Tool (BPT) developed by the LIFE Food & Biodiversity Initiative has been adopted to the Vietnamese context and applied on different 4C certified farms to evaluate the biodiversity situation and set up as well as implement biodiversity action plans. To read more about the project, follow the link.


Improving working and living conditions for coffee smallholders in Colombia

4C partnered with Melitta Europa GmbH & Co. KG. – Division Coffee – and DEG to foster sustainability of the Colombian coffee production. The project was successfully launched on 15 June 2020. Its main objectives include improving sustainable agricultural management of Colombian coffee smallholder farms to contribute to long-term economic and ecologic viability, increasing attractiveness for young adults, as well as market uptake in Europe. To read more about the project, follow the link.


Calculation and reduction of GHG Emissions in Coffee Production

4C together with Simexco Dak Lak Ltd (SMC), a major Vietnamese coffee exporter, conducted a pilot project in cooperation with IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, and Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) to calculate GHG emissions in coffee production. The process involved multiple stages, such as supply chain mapping, filling in and analyzing data templates as well as setting up the first calculator draft. Based on the calculation results, corresponding measures were developed to reduce and mitigate GHG emissions.

This project is an important milestone for 4C on its way to establishing the “4C Carbon Footprint” Add-On to the certification standard. To read more about the project, please follow the link.


Field Survey on Social Issues in the Philippines

Nestlé partnered with 4C to conduct a study with a focus on social issues in the Philippines. 4C assessed the local situation and identified critical topics. In the next step, it developed and recommended feasible measures to address the corresponding issues together with Nestlé’s staff. The methodological approach included a desk-study and a field trip, where multiple interviews with producers, workers, local government, and NGO representatives were carried out.

The main issues of concern identified by 4C were related to the minimum wage legislation and a generally low level of school enrollment for children at secondary and high school age. To read more, follow the link.