Gerações Protocol guarantees sustainability and standardization in coffee production

Ensuring responsible production with dignity for all parts involved in the production chain makes sustainability an essential pilar for coffee farming. And, in line with the market expectations, Cooxupé has developed “Gerações” Protocol. The program presents guidelines and levels that involve both the cooperative and its members.

Above all, the project comprehends that economically sustainable production may occur exclusively in harmony with the environment, co-op members, and their employees.

Gerações Protocol

By means of Gerações Protocol, Cooxupé and its 18 thousand members have committed to adopt the best practices to guarantee resilience. Besides enhancement of labor conditions at farms, socially responsible-based production is consequently enabled.

In this regard, the Sustainability Protocol comprehends indicators and commitments that must be accomplished by either the cooperative and members, considering their diversity regarding production size, geographical location, experience, objectives, activities and resources.

As a result, producers reach better economic balance, which pushes social environmental actions that ensure productivity, market share, traceability, revenue by quality, cheaper credit lines, provision of ag inputs, and technology.

Gerações Protocol is aimed at supporting all members, in spite of any differences, for they can reach the highest possible level of sustainability. The protocol is based on four levels in sustainability:

• LEVEL 1: Conscious about Sustainability
• LEVEL 2: Involved in Sustainability
• LEVEL 3: Practicing Sustainability
• LEVEL 4: Excellence in Sustainability

All levels assemble a set of indicators. In this direction, co-op members must accomplish the minimum commitments of sustainability (Level 1), increasing such commitments in order to evolve to next levels.

Thus, everyone will reach the top in a certain moment, as Cooxupé’s Head of ESG says: “This protocol also estimates indicators for the co-op to provide necessary support to the members, so they may evolve, implement sustainability, and meet the final objective of reaching Level 4, the highest in excellence for sustainable practice”, says Monteiro.

Gerações in line with the market

Cooperative model is sustainable in its essence, since it is made by people. Nevertheless, it allows the inclusion of small growers for they may be key players in sustainable development, with due support from the co-op.

And, as the farmers are increasingly demanded from the market, despite the size of their production and farms, Cooxupé’s Board has chosen to express the benefit by the protocol.

In this regard, Cooxupé’s Commercial Superintendent, Lúcio de Araújo Dias, points that the co-op is sensitive to the coffee market movements as it conveys the need for improvement of processes to the members.

Gerações: Generate actions for future generations

Dias also remarks that the name of the protocol translates the engagement of the producers who grow coffee with responsibility, thinking about the future generations.

“This is the main focus of ‘Generations’: we generate actions by which people can do the best possible. The name of the program is Brazilian, and strong to tell the world that we know what to do and how to do towards producing with very high quality and great responsibility. All of this comes from the new consumers that hope we make more than what is needed“, he concludes.

Gerações: Developing the tool

Gerações Sustainability Protocol has been developed by Cooxupé with support from SCS Global Services (“SCS”), a global certification body with more than 40 years of experience in environmental matters, sustainability and quality of food.

And, as warranty of transparency and credibility for the process, the co-op and its members are going to be regularly visited and undergo verification process by third parties in order to ensure adherence and evolution of the producers, according to different levels of sustainability. It is also going to assess the engagement of Cooxupé in supporting its members.