BOGOTÁ, Colombia – For its contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) won the edition 2021 of the Brukol Responsible Business Awards, organized by the British and Colombian Chamber of Commerce, based in London. The awards, whose virtual ceremony was broadcast live from the British capital (with speakers connected from different countries), celebrate and reward outstanding progress towards becoming a responsible business.
“We are clearly delighted with such an honorable award on responsible business, for us it’s definitely an achievement,” the FNC CEO, Roberto Vélez, said on behalf of the Colombian coffee growers.
“It’s not just an award to us today, but to all the generations that have passed through the Federation. (…) Since it was founded (in 1927), our mission has been to look for well-being of coffee growers, a mission that complies perfectly with what we today call sustainability,” he added.
Vélez recounted some of the main advances in the coffee sector, such as caring for soil or substantial water saving, and emphasized the importance of producers receiving better prices to guarantee sustainability of the sector as a whole.
The award ceremony was attended by executives from other sustainable organizations, who shared their experiences in responsible practices.
“On behalf of the FNC, we want to thank the British Colombian Chamber of Commerce for this award. (…) We all together are contributing to a better planet,” Carolina Castañeda, director of the FNC office in Europe, said.
The selection criteria for the awards considered specific actions in health, well-being, education, gender equity, equal remuneration, paternity leave, minorities participation, volunteering, inter-institutional relations, clean energy and care for the environment and the planet, among others, as well as its close relationship with different SDGs.
Among the nominees were important companies such as Colcafé, Unilever, Grupo Éxito, Colombina, Smurfit Kappa, Ramo and Air Europa, of which the first three were also finalists.
As part of its value strategy, economic, social, environmental and governance sustainability guides all the FNC’s actions, for the benefit of the 540,000 coffee families it represents, its employees and the planet as a whole, therefore very tuned with the SDGs.
Thanks to the coffee contribution (tax) paid per each pound of coffee exported, the FNC contributes to Colombian coffee growers’ well-being and development through public goods and services such as R&D, guaranteed purchasing, technical assistance by the Extension Service, and promotion and positioning of Café de Colombia.
These coffee public goods and services represent not only an important competitive advantage for Colombian coffee growing in the global industry, but also a well-being buffer for Colombian coffee-growing families.
Add to this a number of projects in coffee regions, implemented with efficiency and transparency by the FNC with its own resources and those from national and international partners.
And all this within the framework of its value strategy, whose sustainability is based on the economic, social, environmental and governance pillars.
About Brukol Awards
For over 16 years, the British & Colombian Chamber of Commerce has been promoting responsible practices in businesses operating in both countries, showcasing transformational stories of companies that take real actions to build thriving communities, have positive impacts and contribute to economic development.
