June 21, 2024

At 4C, we value constructive criticism as it helps us to continuously improve our systems and practices. A recent report by Public Eye raised concerns about our certification standards and their enforcement. We appreciate the opportunity to address these points and provide clarity on our certification system and our ongoing efforts to enhance sustainability in the coffee industry.

Outdated and Incorrect Information in the Report:

Study Data:

• The report references a study based on data collected between 2008 and 2015. This data is outdated and does not reflect the current state of the 4C certification system.
• Since the discontinuation of the 4C Association in 2016, 4C Services has made significant revisions, including a new Code of Conduct in 2020 and several system updates, to strengthen our certification requirements and processes.

Audit Processes and Transparency:

• 4C works on continuously improving auditing quality and processes as well as transparency. While the report claims that audits are “relaxed”, 4C audits are thorough and transparent with strict guidelines and procedures to ensure impartiality.
• 4C differentiates between regular audits and integrity audits, with clear and transparent procedures in place to ensure impartiality and prevent fraudulent practices. Unannounced audits, known as unscheduled or ad hoc audits (ISO 19011), are conducted in exceptional cases to maintain integrity.
• While we do not publicly disclose individual farms due to data protection agreements, our Managing Entities, who hold the certificates, are listed on our website.
• Traceability and physical segregation of 4C certified coffee is a crucial requirement at every stage of the coffee supply chain, from the farm to the roaster.
• Managing Entities must establish and maintain a robust and comprehensive internal management system. This system is thoroughly inspected during audits to ensure compliance.
• Internal processes and bookkeeping are audited to verify the traceability of coffee flow within the 4C Unit. All records must be detailed and plausible. The structure of the 4C Unit and details about the farmers must be shared with 4C and auditors. Any changes in the composition of the unit must be promptly updated and communicated.

Strength of the 4C Standard:

• Contrary to the report’s assertions, the 4C standard is not a low-level standard. Our certification requirements are stringent and have become more comprehensive in recent years.
• Since 2020, 4C has implemented a new Code of Conduct and several system updates, making our standards stricter.
• 4C is a robust standard that follows international conventions on human rights and workers’ rights (ILO) and environmental protection.
• While compliance with local laws and regulations is a precondition, the 4C certification goes beyond statutory requirements.
• As the International Trade Centre Standards Map shows, 4C’s requirements are as or even more stringent than other third-party certifications operating within coffee.

Development of 4C and Multistakeholder Approach

• The Common Code for the Coffee Community (4C) was created through a participatory, extensive, transparent and balanced consultation with coffee stakeholders worldwide, and was first owned and operationalized by the former 4C Association. The first initiative was led by the German Coffee Association (DKV) and German International Development Agency (GIZ) (GTZ in 2004) on behalf of the German Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development. Representatives of producing countries, trade and industry as well as civil society were involved in the formulation of this Code.
• The Global Coffee Platform (GCP) Coffee Sustainability Reference Code was initially developed based on the 4C code. However, both standards have evolved independently since 2016. The Equivalence Mechanism, Coffee SR Code, and GCP Collective Reporting on Sustainable Coffee Purchases were created by GCP to establish a sector-wide understanding of the foundations for coffee sustainability.
• These initiatives aim to provide a baseline for sustainability practices in the coffee industry. However, it is important to note that the current 4C standard significantly exceeds these baseline requirements.
• It is important to note that 4C is recognized in the category of third-party assurance under the Equivalence Mechanism 2.0. Only third-party certifications are recognized under this code. It is important to differentiate this from second-party schemes mentioned in the report, which are recognized in a separate category by GCP.

Farmer and Worker Benefits:

• Regarding the report’s claims about the benefits to farmers and workers, 4C provides comprehensive sustainability requirements covering economic, social, and environmental dimensions. Creating a positive impact for coffee farmers is at the forefront of 4C’s mission. Our continuous development efforts aim to provide both short- and long-term benefits.
• 4C certification provides farmers and workers with awareness-raising, capacity building and technical assistance, aimed at improving working conditions and sustainability practices on farms.
• Adhering to 4C requirements helps farmers and their communities reduce pesticide use and correctly manage wastewater, leading to significant health benefits.
• Implementing 4C standards enhances resilience to climate change, ensuring that farming practices are sustainable and adaptable to changing environmental conditions.
• By adopting good agricultural practices promoted by 4C, farmers can achieve higher yields, improving their economic stability and productivity.
• 4C certification enhances market access for farmers, particularly considering increasingly stringent due diligence regulations such as the European Union Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR). 4C appreciates these due diligence regulations and supports their implementation.
• 4C applies a continuous improvement model for minor non-compliances, allowing farmers to enhance their practices. Managing Entities support the compliance, reducing the burden on individual farmers.

In summary, contrary to the statements from the report, 4C is not an entry level standard. Our certification requirements are stringent and have become more comprehensive in recent years. As an ISEAL Community Member, 4C ensures that our practices are aligned with global benchmarks for sustainability. We remain committed to ensuring that our certification is robust and accessible, with requirements that benefit farmers and promote sustainable practices.

4C is dedicated to continuous improvement and upholding the highest standards of sustainability in the coffee industry. We welcome ongoing dialogue and collaboration with all stakeholders to further enhance the effectiveness of our certification system.

For more information on our standards and practices, please contact us directly.

4C partners with JDE Peet’s and DEG to reduce GHG emissions and strengthen climate resilience of smallholder producers

4C Services and JDE Peet’s are proud to announce the start of a joint project on “Reducing GHG emissions and increasing yields from Robusta coffee production by 7,000 smallholder farmers and processors in Tanzania”, co-financed by DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH – with funds of the develoPPP.de program of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), together with funds of JDE Peet’s and 4C Services GmbH.

The project was successfully launched on 09 August 2021. Its main objective is to reduce GHG emissions from Robusta coffee production by smallholder farmers and processors in Tanzania within the JDE Peet’s supply chain by measuring and assessing the carbon footprint of coffee production, implementing mitigation strategies, supporting market uptake of climate friendly coffee and with this, creating positive socio-environmental benefits for the farmers and local communities of the coffee sector in Tanzania and beyond.

Environmental impact of coffee production in Tanzania and how it is addressed by the project

Coffee production has an impact on GHG emissions due to land use change/deforestation, non-regenerative soils which lack the potential to sequester carbon and poor agricultural and processing practices. Coffee cultivation accounts for approx. 90% of the product carbon footprint of roasted coffee. To successfully tackle these challenges, it is crucial to first get an in-depth insight of the drivers of GHG emissions in Robusta coffee production in the region, to then find adequate solutions for reducing these emissions on farm level and throughout the entire supply chain.

In cooperation with the implementing partners Touton S.A. and Karagwe District Cooperative Union (KDCU Ltd.) the project will quantify the carbon footprint of green coffee bean production in the Kagera region in Tanzania and identify potential reduction measures. Such measures will be implemented through the training of master trainers and the set-up of demonstration plots. The measures will be further integrated into the 4C Climate Friendly Coffee Add-on which will also be piloted with the farmers in the region. This will create market opportunities, support farmers in their efforts towards climate change mitigation and adaptation and at the same time facilitate coffee companies to work towards their climate neutrality goals.

“We are very happy to partner with 4C Services, DEG, Touton S.A and KDCU supporting over 7,000 smallholder farmers in Kagera, Tanzania to reduce GHG emissions through sustainable and climate friendly agricultural and processing practices. Tanzania is an important coffee origin that is critical towards safeguarding the rich diversity of coffee.” – Nadia Hoarau-Mwaura, Sustainability Director at JDE Peet’s

“We are very excited that together with our supply chain partners 4C will take action to measure GHG emissions in Robusta coffee production in Tanzania and support 7,000 farmers in the implementation of reduction measures.” – Dr. Norbert Schmitz, 4C Managing Director. “Through this common effort, we want to take the next step to assessing the carbon footprint and making climate friendly coffee supply chains a reality.”

4C partners with Melitta Europa and DEG to foster sustainability of the Colombian coffee production

Magdalena is a Colombian department with a magnificent landscape that stretches from a wide plain in the southern area to the Caribbean Sea in the north. The region is known for the topical humid climate which allows productive activities like palm oil, banana and coffee. It also boasts a beautiful mountainous complex of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta which is the highest coastal mountain on Earth and one of the country´s most biodiverse regions. However, Magdalena is also one of the departments with the highest rates of rural poverty and youth unemployment in Colombia, as well as one affected greatest by the impact of climate change.

Magdalena is the region that was selected for the implementation of a three-year 4C sustainability project.

This project is conducted by 4C and its partners Melitta Europa GmbH & Co. KG and Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG) and aims to improve sustainable agricultural management of Colombian coffee growers and market uptake in Europe to contribute to the long-term economic and ecologic viability of smallholder farms, thus, increasing the attractiveness of the sector for young adults.

Decision making supported by remote sensing technology

A balanced combination of remote sensing technologies, market links, local synergies and a baseline study were crucial for choosing the focus region of the project.

Global Risk Assessment Services (GRAS) conducted a “bird´s eye view” analysis and used data on protected areas, high carbon stock areas, potential deforestation, converted grassland and national social indices to define a risk index for each department. For an initial preselection of departments, these results were analysed with Melitta and compared with possible synergies with other similar projects.

Then 4C´s local partners Alliance for Bioversity International (ABC) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIA) compiled key information on the main social, environmental and economic challenges that make coffee production risky and volatile as well as unappealing for young adults. Major challenges for coffee farmers, found by the study, include high costs of coffee production, low productivity, lack of farm and income diversification, risk of deforestation and negative impact of climate change. The identified drivers for young adults to migrate to the cities and leave coffee production were the unattractiveness of the coffee sector due to heavy work, low income and absence of social recognition as well as the lack of access to capital and land.

Bringing together local and international partners

In November 2020, 4C brought together 38 participants from NGOs, companies and local coffee cooperatives at an online multistakeholder workshop to present these findings. The workshop was an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss the main challenges and possible solutions. Furthermore, stakeholders exchanged ideas on how to better integrate youth in the Colombian coffee sector. Following the initial assessments and the workshop, 4C and its partners identified the department of Magdalena as the one with the greatest need for project intervention and defined the most relevant training topics.

“Through the active participation of various actors from the coffee industry, including coffee producers, traders, roasters, NGOs and research institutions, we are glad to have received a broad input on the main challenges to be addressed within the training program that we are in the process to develop together with FNC, ABC and NES Naturaleza, as well as input on training methodologies to be applied”, highlights Myriel Camp, Program Manager at 4C Services.

In comparison to the other six departments assessed, Magdalena showed low productivity, the highest rates of rural poverty, youth unemployment and lack of rural education. It was also one of the departments affected greatest by the impact of climate change, a risks losing the remaining forest due to deforestation. A decrease of almost 50% in a suitable area for coffee production is predicted. In addition, coffee productivity in Magdalena amounts to 0.71 tons/hectare, which is only half of that of departments such as Antioquia, Huila and Risaralda. Access to international markets for coffee represents only 2% of the total coffee exports from Colombia, in comparison to 10%-18% in the best performing departments.

When it comes to improved attractiveness of the sector for young adults, the baseline study revealed the demand for greater opportunities in terms of employability and strengthening youth initiatives and access to capital for implementing business ideas in the coffee industry.

“Having identified Magdalena as the project implementation region to best achieve impact on the ground and where the most need for intervention exists, fits into our vision, among other things, to support the market access of the farmers of the project. Magdalena is a region from which we source green coffees. Supporting here with our project to improve the livelihoods of coffee farmers and young adults makes us very happy”, says Jan Rischkopf, Sustainability Manager at Melitta Europa GmbH & Co. KG.

Engaging beneficiaries and local actors

In early 2021, the work in Magdalena began. The project was socialized with the coffee growers committee of Magdalena and with their support the target beneficiaries have been identified. Via radio program, SMS, posters and field visits, farmers and young adults are going to be informed about the project objectives and motivated to participate. Field visits to potential project beneficiaries, planned to start mid-March, will be led by experienced agronomists from the region. Measuring the impact is an important component of the project, the field officers will use a phone application developed by GRAS to collect the baseline data of the selected beneficiaries and in this way measure change over the timeframe of the project.

In addition, the project’s training program is currently under development in cooperation with the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (FNC), one of the main implementing partners of the project. “For the FNC it is a commitment to work for the well-being of Colombian coffee growing families and the development of the country, and therefore we are proud to work with allies such as 4C to generate value through the development of projects that increase the opportunities and profitability of coffee growers,” says Diego Robles Marcucci, Sustainable Trade Specialist at FNC. He added: “Through the Comité de Cafeteros del Magdalena, we work in this coffee-growing department, which includes around 5,000 producers to whom we provide services such as technical assistance in cultivation through the Facilitated Extension Service, purchase guarantees, scientific research and the promotion of Colombian coffee.”

Trainings’ topics, identified during the multistakeholder workshop, include, among others, the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices and improving marketing and business skills for emerging businesses. The training program is the key component to bring changes in the sector. Different training approaches and methodologies will be applied, ranging from train-the-trainer trainings to demonstration farms serving as training ground and field schools for farmers and young adults. To enable the implementation of the learnings from the training, the project will support these activities with financial contributions for required investments.

“Within the framework of the DeveloPPP project, we will be able to generate important synergies with relevant actors in the supply chain to contribute to the profitability of coffee growing and the well-being of coffee growers”, concluded Diego Robles Marcucci from FNC.

Further information on the project and the results of the baseline study can be found here.