4C describes themselves as an independent third-party certification scheme for the sustainable cultivation, processing and trading of coffee. They have now released their first “Approach & Impact Report” to showcase their development over the last four years, when they transitioned from a verification to certification organisation.
As a stakeholder-driven and internationally recognised sustainability standard for the entire coffee sector, 4C aims at anchoring sustainability in coffee supply chains across environmental, social and economic dimensions.
4C is proud to announce the publication of its first Approach & Impact Report today. This report showcases 4C’s development since its transition from verification to certification in 2018 and the impact that has been achieved over the years.
4C Approach & Impact Report
The report is not particularly easy reading at first, so I’m afraid I skimmed the first 32 pages, and looked for something tangible. I don’t think it’s the content as much as the sheer density of the text, which is off-putting for anyone time-bound, which is most of us.
Fortunately, later in the report, parts of it become easier to read and it delivers detailed and useful information, for example the ‘Transparency’ section on page 33.
Traceability in 4C means that 4C certified coffee must be tracked and traced back and forth through all steps of the coffee supply chain, from the producer up to the Final Buyer. Within the 4C Unit, only physical segregation is allowed. This ensures that 4C certified and non-4C certified coffee is kept physically separated.
Full traceability is verified during the 4C audits. For instance, records of incoming, outgoing and stored 4C coffee must be available at each Business Partner of the 4C Unit. Bookkeeping is required to confirm that the outgoing 4C certified coffee volume is equal to or less than the incoming 4C certified coffee volume
It’s refreshing to see an unambiguous statement of transparency. 4C takes a risk-led approach, likely based in ISO roots, and it’s suitable for an industry like this where there are few absolutes.
There are innovations they have deployed as well. I noted the 4C Classified Chemicals tool as an example that appears genuinely useful.
4C has developed an easy-to-use “classified chemicals” tool that shall help auditors, Managing Entities and coffee farmers to comply with the 4C requirements on the use of pesticides. By entering the CAS¹⁵ number of the respective active ingredient and the country of cultivation, it identifies which chemicals are prohibited or need to be phased out according to the 4C Pesticide Lists and which ones are banned or not approved in the country of application.
4C Approach & Impact Report
I have not read the entire report yet, but the organisation says that this is to showcase their development over the last four years, and in this regard I think it is fair to say they have delivered a solid report.
4C Media Release
The report especially shines a light on the continuous improvements and developments of the 4C system, which have made it the globally leading certification system that it is today. In order to reach this comprehensive standard, covering environmental, social and economic sustainability dimensions, key improvements in areas such as risk assessment, traceability, capacity building and regular integrity audits have been implemented as outlined in the report.
For the Approach & Impact Report 4C worked on finding science-based solutions for the complex topic of comprehensive impact assessment. The “Theory of Change” that the 4C Approach & Impact Report is based on, was created in a thorough process, mapping activities, strategies and goals. The impact assessment further draws on carefully analyzed data from the 4C database, including evaluations of numerous audit reports and results of internal assessments. Furthermore, the report includes results from comprehensive surveys conducted among the 4C certified producer groups and certification bodies cooperating with 4C, as well as feedback from additional stakeholder groups, including industry and trade actors, civil society and research organizations.
4C, as a certification system, creates impact in various ways within the coffee sector; through fostering good agricultural practices, preventing deforestation, promoting climate friendly coffee cultivation and improving livelihoods of stallholder farmers. Beyond assurance services, 4C actively participates in initiatives and develops projects which are also reflected in the report. 4C’s projects focus on important topics such as reducing the carbon footprint of coffee value chains, empowering women and increasing biodiversity in coffee growing regions. To further illustrate the impact of 4C, the report also includes several case studies.
This is the first impact report for 4C, which is part of our monitoring and continuous improvement process. 4C aims to maintain the tradition of publishing impact reports on a regular basis as a tool to test and evaluate the effectiveness of its certification system. 4C’s first and foremost goal is to anchor sustainability in the coffee supply chain and support both parties on the producing and consuming side on their path to a more resilient and sustainable coffee world. In this way, 4C contributes to coffee tasting great while also serving the people who produce it and the planet who provides it!
You can access the report here. Impact Report_18.03_FINAL (4c-services.org)
