Comparative analysis of coffee eco-certification initiatives

The major coffee eco certification/verification schemes that are currently operational include: Fair trade, C.A.F.E practices, Nespresso AAA, Organic, Rainforest Alliance, Utz Certified, Common Code for the Coffee Community (4C) and Bird Friendly. The various certification schemes focus on the three pillars of sustainability namely, social and economic justice, and environmental responsibility. However, due to marked similarities between them, there has been apparent confusion among industry players and producer organizations about the unique aspects of each standard and what they would offer if taken up, thereby obscuring choice making. As such, this study seeks to offer clarity and a constructive critique of the different schemes with a view to providing holistic information that would enable sound decision-making across the supply chain. To begin with, a comprehensive review of all standards was done, focusing on 'critical' and 'required' criteria, after which data was analyzed by use of Principal Component Analysis. Results on Critical Criteria, the mandatory one, indicate that in general, all standards focus on Environment, Agriculture and Social criteria but with various level of expectation. Only Fairtrade and, to a lesser extend, 4C labels give some importance to the Economic domain. The analysis performed on the Required Criteria didn't lead to any results, indicating the lack of labels' specificity based on these criteria. (Résumé d'auteur