Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee
Our Target: From June 2010 all Costa coffee sold in the UK will be 100% Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM
What is Rainforest Alliance certification?
The Rainforest Alliance certification of the farms where this coffee is grown ensures that high levels of environmental and social performance are achieved.
The Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM seal means that farmers follow sound agricultural practices that protect forests, rivers, soils and wildlife while being good community neighbours.
Rainforest Alliance certification also ensures that workers have decent wages, dignified living conditions, access to healthcare and education for their children.
Under the Rainforest Alliance certification scheme, coffee farmers must meet the environmental and social criteria defined in the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) Standards:
More on Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture
View the Sustainable Agriculture Standard [PDF]
Why sign up to any certification scheme?
Giorgio Fioravanti says that customers want to know their coffee comes from a good source. So certification is a really good way to prove that.
"It is an investment in having a sustainable business - it secures our long-term relationship with our customers."
There is a financial cost to committing to 100% Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM coffee. And it is also one that Costa cannot pass on to consumers. But Giorgio is adamant it is the right thing to do. As Kevin Hydes, head of marketing at Costa UK, says: "We recognise that without the farmers and the co-operatives who grow our coffee beans, we have no business."
Why did we choose Rainforest Alliance?
Rainforest Alliance certification and the SAN standard upon which it is based were developed in the tropics - where wildlife and habitats face the greatest risks. The program is the direct result of environmentalists, scientists and farmers sitting down together to resolve problems and devise a practical and mutually beneficial way to move forward.
There is a core focus on forest protection, for example, Rainforest Alliance certification requires reforestation with native tree species, the conservation of forestland and a diversity of tree species on farms. It also mandates strong protections for rainforests and other ecosystems.
The Rainforest Alliance scheme also balances strict environmental considerations alongside communities, social and economic benefits, requiring the payment of benefits, good housing, safe conditions, and proper training. Rainforest Alliance also offers extensive guidance to farmers, who can learn to control costs, increase production, improve crop quality, demand higher prices and negotiate good terms when selling their crops.
Costa Coffee Production Director Giorgio Fioravanti says: "Many certification schemes are good. But Rainforest Alliance is a better fit for our Brand, with an overall holistic approach compared to other certification bodies."
The challenges of going 100% certified
Giorgio points out that it has not been so easy to reach 100% certified.
"There were a few factors. When we started looking into this two years ago, Rainforest Alliance coffee was mainly available from central and south America, all Arabica beans. Robusta plays an important role in our Mocha Italia blend, and last year some certified Robusta from Vietnam became available and we were able to get the blend that we needed."
"This year alone we will need 75,000 bags of coffee, so we had to be sure we could secure all our business requirements."
"The other issue is quality. At Costa only the best quality is used in our blends, and in screen size we only take the top 20% of the crop (Screen 17/18). We had to be sure we could get coffee of the right quality before we could commit to 100% Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM."
After 18 years in the business, Giorgio was hardly likely to let quality standards slip. But it is good to know that from June, that quality coffee will come with a 100% Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM seal of approval too.
