BERLIN, Germany — Set against the vibrant backdrop of Berlin’s Grüne Woche, the International Coffee Organization (ICO), Global Coffee Platform (GCP), and German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) came together on Friday 19 January 2024, to sign a joint declaration to strengthen their cooperation towards a true sustainable transformation of the global coffee sector.
The declaration addresses key issues such as living income, market transparency, gender equity, and enabling policies and institutions, and will resonate with stakeholders at the very heart of the industry.
Acknowledging the ambitious sector-level goals of the 2030 Roadmap agreed upon and adopted by the International Coffee Council (ICC) and Coffee Private Public Task Force (CPPTF), the declaration reaffirms the signatories’ commitment to realizing a common vision for the coffee sector.
This vision centres on economic resilience, celebrates the diversity of coffee origins, and champions environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation through circularity, regenerative production, trade, and consumption. It also highlights the need to preserve natural ecosystems in coffee-producing countries worldwide, 42 of which are Members of the ICO.
Central to this commitment is addressing the root causes of the many social and economic obstacles faced by producers.
To overcome these challenges, lift communities out of poverty and nurture a thriving sector for future generations, the signatories have pledged to identify solutions to make coffee the most sustainable, inclusive and resilient agricultural sector and enable compliance with the prevailing regulatory framework.
They have also reiterated the importance of harnessing effective multilateral dialogue and expressed their intent to further mobilize and align actors and resources from governments, the private sector and civil society.
“With our distinct and complementary strengths, we are united in our pursuit of a prosperous future for the farmers behind the 2.94 billion cups of coffee we consume every day. Today’s signature highlights the ICO, GCP and the German Government’s dedication to elevating the sector and implementing effective joint initiatives to achieve our common goals” said Vanúsia Nogueira, Executive Director, ICO.
“Global and local multistakeholder cooperation is essential to meaningful sector transformation. It is only through focused collective action that we can tackle the threats to sustainable coffee production and consumption. GCP has been working with coffee-producing countries, our GCP Membership and partners to address systemic issues hindering the development and prosperity of coffee farming communities. We are buoyed by the commitment shown today and excited with the prospect of more organizations joining for accelerated impact at scale,” said Annette Pensel, Executive Director, GCP
“Germany is dedicated in its support to the advancement of the global coffee sector towards a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient future. This joint declaration with ICO and GCP articulates our shared vision for a sustainable and equitable future, addressing key issues and aligning with the sector-level goals outlined in the 2030 Roadmap of the ICO Taskforce,” said Dr. Ariane Hildebrandt, Director General, BMZ.
