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coffee in low market grades. Café de Colombia and
the FNC expect to go a step ahead to assure market
opportunities for coffee producers.
● Coffee has been a pioneer product in the
implementation of voluntary sustainability stan-
dards and programs. According to the Global Cof-
fee Platform by 2045, the entire coffee industry
hopes to have a sustainable world coffee produc-
tion, in accordance with the objectives set within
the global coffee platform.
By creating its own sustainability standard,
Café de Colombia, will take into account the spe-
cific characteristics of Colombian coffee growing,
making it inclusive so that every coffee grower can
be a part of it.
With the coffee growers’ commitment, sus- Why develop an own sustainability standard?
tainable Café de Colombia wants to consolidate
and constitute a model of good practices that can This own standard aims to recognize and highlight
be applied to their way of living. the attributes and essential values of Colombian cof-
fee, which represent a real added value, not only for
Is this a realistic goal? Which is the start- producers but for responsible consumers.
ing point? Sustainable Café de Colombia will demonstrate
all stakeholders (consumers, industry, buyers, govern-
This goal has been set taking into account ment, academy, etc) that this strategy will fulfill sus-
innovations made by the Café de Colombia in tainability principles, in accordance with the norma-
sustainable matters. This initiative doesn’t start tive system that intends to link the majority of coffee
from a scratch, it rescues the essential standards growers in an inclusive model, identifying actions of
of voluntary sustainability already established improvement and highlight inside the value chain.
and it adapts them to the context of the country;
building foundations on the strengths, experi- Is this own standard innovative?
ence and institutionalism of Colombia.
Today, at least 30% of Colombian coffee Innovation can be seen in the following factors:
growers (165.385 producers) work by a sustain- Inclusiveness: by making it possible for all coffee
ability standard, an area of 391,612 ha (42% of growers and the value chain participate fairly in the
total coffee plantation area),this process has construction of the standard.
made the recognition of strengths and weak- Continuous improvement: a strategical decision
nesses within the sector possible and allowed to making model, based on constant supervision and
identify critical practices that have to be taken evaluation, will ensure the never ending progress.
into consideration to accomplish the goal. Time and working plans: the standard should con-
Café de Colombia wants to generalize the sider geographic, social and economic conditions that
practice, to have an inclusive and scalable mean reflect the reality of Colombian coffee growers.
that goes beyond time barriers and frontiers to Adaptability: it covers the heterogeneity of Colom-
show better results. The FNC wants to promote bian coffee production.
sustainability to be the rule and not the excep- Social wellbeing: the main principle of this sus-
tion and to cover the whole sector, inviting every tainable goal is to prioritize the social wellbeing of the
stakeholder to be a part and take action. coffee growing families and their communities.

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