Coffee bean certification 4C Association coffee certification

4C certification is a widely accepted management rule in the world, which involves the sustainable development of coffee cultivation, production, processing and other aspects of the supply chain, including social, environmental and economic principles. Coffee practitioners are required to protect biodiversity, protect all kinds of national endangered animals and plants, correctly use and handle pesticides and other chemicals, protect the natural environment and human health, pay attention to soil protection, water resources protection, safe treatment of wastewater and garbage, and give priority to the use of renewable energy.

It is understood that 4C Association is a global organization of stakeholders in the coffee industry chain, whose purpose is to improve the income and living conditions of producers by reducing costs, improving quality, providing market conditions and ensuring environmental sustainability.

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About the translator: Mo Lizhen (1966 ~), female, bachelor degree in agriculture, has been engaged in scientific research, production techniques, training and cup products of small seed coffee in Pu'er since 1988. He has published many papers in Tropical crop Research, Yunnan Hot farming Science and Technology and Tropical Agricultural Science, and published a monograph on High yield and quality cultivation techniques of small seed Coffee.

4C coffee certification is a development trend. 4C certification is a widely accepted management rule in the world, which involves the sustainable development of coffee cultivation, production, processing and other aspects of the supply chain. This article is based on the translation of FAQ on 4C Coffee Certification provided by 4C website. It is for reference only. If there is anything unclear, please refer to the original text of 4C website.

I. brief answers related to 4C organizations

1. What is the 4C Association?

4C Association is a legal, non-profit, global (United Nations) coffee industry organization registered in Geneva, Switzerland. Its full name is Common Code for the Coffee Community, which is translated into Chinese as "rules for the Management of the Coffee Community", referred to as 4C or 4C Association.

4C Association members include coffee farmers (large and small), traders (importers and exporters), practitioners (coffee roasters and retailers) and civil society (non-governmental organizations, standard-setting schemes and trade unions); members also include individuals, donors and other institutions that can also join as associate members.

4C Association is a multi-stakeholder organization, a global social work that allows coffee makers to jointly improve their economic, social and environmental conditions, with the ultimate goal of making sustainable development mainstream. And as many farmers as possible to achieve a sustainable mode of production.

two。 Why set up 4C Association?

The coffee crisis from 2001 to 2002 led to very low coffee prices for a long time, threatened the sustainability of the coffee industry and caused major difficulties in the development of coffee growing areas. As a result, growers, traders and industry and civil society representatives are aware of the need to work together to address issues that mainly affect the sustainable development of the coffee industry. In 2003, different stakeholder groups launched the Coffee Community Management Project-"4C" Association, whose slogan is "work together to develop a better Coffee World". Over the past 10 years, 4C Association has continued to be a pre-competitive platform, where stakeholder groups can work together to solve problems affecting sustainable development.

3. What is the 4C unit?

4C unit refers to the production group that produces 4C standard coffee for a long time. The setting of 4C units is flexible. A 4C unit can be a co-registered small-scale grower, such as a cooperative or farmers' association, a procurement station, a factory, a local businessman, an export organization, or a roasting coffee factory produced in a country.

There are three prerequisites for the establishment of a 4C unit: first, to be a member of the 4C association or an existing 4C member; second, to be able to provide at least one container of commercial coffee raw beans (20 tons); and third, to comply with the code of conduct of 4C. If you are a producer of commercial coffee with a raw bean output of more than 20 tons, you can register as a 4C unit. If your output is insufficient, you can join an established 4C unit, or establish a new 4C unit with other small-scale farmers; in another case, the exporting country should establish a 4C unit with the supplier.

In a 4C unit, anyone who is in direct contact with coffee is called a business partner. A person or company provides services for coffee production and direct contact with fresh fruits or commercial raw coffee beans, such as growers and pesticide spraying companies are also considered business partners.

4. What are the 10 wrong practices of coffee growers?

Coffee growers make 10 mistakes:

(1) use of child labour in extreme ways

(II) imprisonment and forced use of labour

(3) trafficking in human beings

(4) prohibiting members from becoming members or representatives of trade unions

(5) forcibly dismiss employees without reasonable compensation

(6) unable to provide suitable accommodation for workers.

(7) drinking water cannot be provided for all employees.

(8) cutting down virgin forests or destroying other natural resources

(9) use of prohibited pesticides

(X) improper transactions in business relations contrary to international law, domestic law and customary practices.