Sustainable Coffee Program- Frequently Asked Questions June 2015

Frequently Asked Questions 1. What is the Sustainable Coffee Program (under IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative)?

SCP is a public-private facility of stakeholders that aim to bring global sustainable coffee production and sourcing practices to scale. This includes: a. Preserving natural resources b. Improving farmer livelihoods c. Building resilience with farmers in an ever-changing market.

The SCP achieves this by facilitating pre-competitive cooperation between stakeholders and aligning public and private investments.

2. What is the role of coffee producing countries?

Although, industry, trade partners and others can stimulate and support sustainable development, they can not do it alone. The full support and buy-in from producing countries is needed to create real change on the ground. This often requires foreign donors to assist with the initial investments. The SCP is well positioned to convene the private sector, encourage local governments and institutions to embed sustainability in their local policies and practices and provide some initial investments, thanks to the support of funding governments.

3. Who is steering the SCP and where is it active?

The program is run by a small secretariat (IDH, the Netherlands) and steered by the representatives from participating roasters, the European Coffee Federation and HIVOS. SCP is currently active in eight coffee producing countries, chosen with support of the steering group members. National program coordinators in each country oversee program activities and make sure interventions are in line with the countries’ specific needs.

4. How is it funded?

Private investments are co-funded with grants from the Dutch, Swiss and Danish government. The amount of public funding available depends on how pre-competitive the investments are. The greater the anticipated public good, the higher the co-funding ratio applied. For example:

ď ˝ 22 June 2015

  

Activities that benefit the whole sector have higher levels of co-funding available (highest is 70%) Investments that are more to the benefit of a companies’ supply chain have lower co-funding ratio (field level projects: 30%) Riskier or more innovative activities can be co-funded at a higher level if potential lessons learned have a broad range of beneficiaries.

All SCP investments at field level are reviewed by an independent expertise committee, guided by local experts and the national program coordinators.

5. Why is the SCP relevant?  SCP addresses the issues in the coffee sector, that all stakeholders struggle with and could be more efficiently and effectively tackled together pre competitively.

Also, topics which an individual stakeholder cannot address alone because they are either too big or complex.  SCP offers a joint agenda and platform, making sure efforts are aligned and shared  SCP offers a decisive and action-oriented platform that is open and attractive to other donors (PPP) 6. Why would roasters and traders be interested to invest in pre-competitive issues?

Roasters and traders need access to volumes of good quality coffee and diverse, now and in the future. This can be at stake if nothing is done to build a better enabling environment/framework for coffee farming communities. Private sector investments can catalyze funding from public donors and local governments and as such create a positive movement towards addressing the issues that put coffee production at stake.

7. How does the SCP work to reach its overall aim (bring global sustainable coffee production and sourcing practices to scale)?

SCP has established a global, common agenda. This global agenda has been translated into more specific national activities and producer support programs. Key inputs into those agendas have been outcomes of local business case studies, expertise input from the national program coordinators and engagement with sector stakeholders.

8. Can you give examples of activities from the joint global agenda?

- Publication of the Sustainable Coffee Farming as a Family Business: Toolkit for Youth and Gender Inclusion - Promotion of alternatives to Endosulfan - A global partnership with the Coffee & Climate Initiative - Research into the effectiveness of Service Delivery Models - Access to Finance studies and pilots

 22 June 2015

9. Can you name examples of activities from the national agenda?

Vietnam: the establishment of the Vietnam Coffee Coordination Board (the VCCB) with the help of SCP. Together with the local government, sector organizations and other stakeholders, the VCCB - a public-private think-tank - was set up. This important board aims to improve the coordination of coffee related policies and activities in Vietnam. This is an important step forward in terms of a more efficient organization and coordination of coffee matters and the inclusion of the voice of the private sector in decision making.

Brazil: support implementers of projects linked to SCP sustainability goals to unlock earmarked FuncafĂŠ and MDA funds. There are several federal and state initiatives in Brazil that provide resources with favorable terms to producers. Many of these credit lines are not frequently accessed due to lack of information. In most cases, the credit lines are very interesting with advantageous repayment conditions and low interest rates. With support of the SCP, a guide was developed and disseminated that presents the main credit lines available in Brazil to help coffee growers to become more sustainable.

Uganda: A National Sustainability Curriculum was developed in public-private cooperation and endorsed by government and other key national stakeholder. Training materials were developed that are now going to be used by public & private extension services.

10. How can a roaster or trader join the SCP? A roaster (or formal roaster group representative) or trader can join the SCP, if the roaster participates in the agenda of at least 1 SCP focus country and contributes to at least 1 national agenda A roaster (or formal roaster group representative) may choose to participate in the Steering Committee if the roaster qualifies with the following criteria: I. Participates in at least 3 focus countries and contributes to at least 3 national agendas II. Contributes to the international agenda If entry of a roaster (or formal roaster group representative) or trader causes the program reputational risk, entry of the new roaster or trader to the SCP or the Steering Committee may be denied.

11. What is the Vision 2020 initiative and how does it relate to SCP? Vision 2020 (eventual name tbd) will become the leading coordination and collaboration platform for sustainability in the coffee sector, and the SCP is a founding member. While respecting and integrating the identity and activities of its partners (ICO, 4C Association and IDH) it will bring an improved alignment and coordination of the efforts and funding from all coffee sector stakeholders.

ď ˝ 22 June 2015

Jenny Kwan Program Manager coffee@idhsustainabletrade.com www.sustainablecoffeeprogram.com

Donors A

Steering Committee

National level private sector partners

ď ˝ 22 June 2015