BONN, Germany – The Global Coffee Platform (GCP) is ready, willing and able to move for sustainable impact at scale and is inviting more organizations to get involved in two GCP Collective Action Initiatives in Vietnam and Brazil. A Collective Action Initiative (Member Initiative) has companies and organizations leverage their resources to collectively improve an identified issue for coffee at origin. The results and learnings are shared with the coffee sector to scale results.
Roasters, retailers, producers, traders and NGOs are now invited to contribute to a Collective Action Initiative. Co-funders will provide input to addressing a critical issue, while leveraging their financial investment by joining others to achieve greater scale and scope.
Collective Action Initiatives mean there is a shared risk, however there are also shared benefits as you harvest together.
“GCP’s Collective Action Initiatives address burning issues at origin such as responsible use of agro-chemicals or social well-being. I find it most amazing that competitors come together, join forces and leverage their resources to improve pressing issues,” said Caroline Glowka, Manager Member Relations & Corporate Partnerships.
“Big battles are fought and won collectively. GCP’s extensive network of global Members and local Country Platforms are clearly at the forefront accomplishing Collective Action Initiatives that deliver significant results and create well-being for coffee farmers and their families around the world,” stated Mary Petitt, Gcp Ambassador North America
GCP’s Collective Action Initiative is calling for improved social well-being in Brazil coffee farming
In partnership with InPACTO and Cecafé, a new Collective Action Initiative will work to improve living and working conditions for coffee growers and workers.
Brazil has one of the strictest labor legislation amid all coffee producing countries, but not all growers fully comply with it. Legislation is complex, bureaucratic and also costly for growers to comply with, specially smallholders.
Although it is safe to say that Brazilian coffee growers in general have fair living and working conditions, there are cases of forced labor detected among workers, a few having been identified recently in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo states.
It is vital to create awareness about unacceptable living and working conditions amidst farmers, leaders and opinion makers (many of whom do not believe they actually happen) and create effective solutions to fight the problem and prevent it.
This Initiative, in partnership with InPACTO and Cecafé, aims to to improve living and working conditions for coffee growers and workers, while promoting awareness about degrading working conditions and generating continuous improvement in the coffee sector. This initiative will contribute to eliminate unacceptable social practices at farm-level, with a strong focus on:
- education
- mapping and monitoring of working conditions in coffee areas
- studies covering living wage, living income and cost of production
- positive communication (success cases)
“Good living and working conditions should come first when we think about sustainability in coffee. With the Collective Action Initiative, we hope to create awareness about this complex issue and trigger change to prevent degrading conditions in the Brazilian coffee-producing chain,” said Maria Fernanda Brando, Gcp Brazil Team.
To learn more:
- Pedro Ronca, GCP Brazil Program Manager, ronca@globalcoffeeplatform.org or
- Caroline Glowka, GCP Manager Membership & Corporate Partnerships, glowka@globalcoffeeplatform.org
Join GCP for an exclusive webinar and learn more about this new Collective Action Initiative on 28 April, 16:00 CET.
Click here to register for the webinar.
