The Global Coffee Platform (GCP) and the Rainforest Alliance (RA) have signed today (Nov.8, 2018) a partnership agreement for the next five years to support ‘National Platforms’ in coffee producing countries, as well as to identify opportunities at country level and tackle local priorities. The announcement was made during the Global Coffee Sustainability Conference 2018 taking place in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Han de Groot, Chief Executive Officer of the Rainforest Alliance, and Annette Pensel, Executive Director of the Global Coffee Platform signed the partnership agreement, a milestone for coffee sustainability.
The Global Coffee Sustainability Conference (GCSC18) was the perfect venue to convey this key message to the whole coffee sector: if we work together, we will significantly contribute to making coffee the first sustainable commodity in the world. The new partnership agreement seeks to intensify their joint projects to benefit coffee farming families around the globe.
According to Rogier Eijkens, GCP Director of Programs: “We need to capitalize on each other’s strengths. GCP and the Rainforest Alliance believe that aligning at global and national level will set a new bar in the way we should work together on coffee sustainability.”
Concrete action between GCP and the Rainforest Alliance
Based on findings and recommendations from a learning assessment, the organizations reviewed their current partnership and high-level strategic exchange. As a conclusion, GCP and the Rainforest Alliance decided to engage in a broad and long-term partnership to capitalize on each other’s strengths and previous collaboration experiences.
The agreement pursues the consolidation of National Coffee Platforms and their secretariat as facilitators of multi-stakeholder dialogues in different coffee producing countries. At a global scale, the Rainforest Alliance and GCP will also organize regular strategic sessions to promote exchange and learning between National Coffee Platforms in producing countries. Both organizations will also identify opportunities at country level to support collective action (Member Initiatives) among coffee stakeholders and members based on country priority issues agreed.
The partnership agreement will last 5 years, starting from the 1st of January 2019. The expectation is that by 2024, the collective work from the Rainforest Alliance and GCP’s 150+ members will have been a key contribution towards a more sustainable coffee sector.
About the Global Coffee Platform
The Global Coffee Platform believes that sustainability is a shared responsibility. This is why the GCP focuses its entire attention on enabling all its members (producers, international roasters, governments, traders, donors, and NGOs) to align and multiply their efforts and investments, collectively act on local priorities and critical issues, and scale successful sustainability initiatives across the sector. As a result, GCP Members can tackle the biggest issues relevant to their business, share the costs, make smarter investments, and achieve greater impact on farmer livelihoods.
About Rainforest Alliance
The Rainforest Alliance is an international nonprofit organization working to build a future in which nature is protected and biodiversity flourishes, where farmers, workers, and communities prosper, and where sustainable land use and responsible business practices are the norm. We envision a world where people and nature thrive in harmony. In January 2018, the Rainforest Alliance merged with UTZ, a global program and label for sustainable farming. Its CEO is Han de Groot.
About the GCSC18
The Global Coffee Sustainability Conference is one of the most important coffee events of the year. It takes place from the 8th to 10th November in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Set in the biggest coffee-producing state in the country and during the renowned International Coffee Week in Expominas. The #GCSC18 gathers sustainability leaders and changemakers from every corner of the coffee sector to regroup, take stock, exchange, and continue to collectively act on local priorities.
