From process to action – thoughts of an outgoing GCP Board member
A reflection on GCP’s progress through conversation with exiting Board member, Mr Trishul Mandana.
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This month we bid farewell to one of our GCP Board members, Mr Trishul Mandana. Mr Mandana has been a board member for over five years, serving almost two full terms. As the Managing Director of Volcafe and over 25 years of experience in the coffee industry, he has provided strategic market views and valuable advice to the GCP Board and the association over the years.
In saying goodbye to Mr Mandana, GCP has the opportunity to reflect on the progress made over the years, moving from GCP 1.0 to a more action-oriented GCP 2.0 strategy. In this time, GCP has become a more dynamic organisation and the Board has played a key role in this.
“This was the first time I was involved with a pre-competitive board. The different backgrounds, nationalities and personalities of the GCP Board members create a challenging but incredibly interesting environment. It is a space where you can be vocal about what you think is the best way forward for the industry and have spirited discussions on key issues.”
In a recent conversation, Trishul Mandana reflected on one of his personal highlights as a GCP Board member: the development of the GCP Sustainable Coffee Purchase Snapshot. For Trishul, the Collective Reporting by roasters and retailers is not just about transparency – it has the potential to make a real difference in the lives of smallholder farmers in poorer coffee producing countries. He believes that supporting these farmers requires buyers to dedicate a certain level of sourcing to a diverse set of origins. A significant step towards this is roasters and retailers publishing their Sustainable Coffee Purchases in the GCP Snapshot.
“The message of diversification of sourcing and how that can help farmers was something people didn’t talk about at all five years ago and today it’s very much in the mainstream. Recent events have shown people that it’s not good to be reliant on one source and the message of diversification has come to the forefront.”
Improving the livelihoods of farmers through partnerships and collective action is a key pillar in the GCP 2.0 strategy. GCP 2.0 aims to increase smallholders’ prosperity by closing at least 25% of the living income gap in more than 10 producing countries through sustainable coffee production and other sources, and by that also enable climate adaptation/mitigation and workers’ well-being. Meeting these ambitious goals requires GCP Members to work collectively at an accelerated pace.
“We have done a lot of talking and planning over the past few years and recently put together the GCP strategic plan. My biggest wish is for us to execute this plan without deviating from it at a speed that is faster than before.”
GCP would like to thank Trishul Mandana for his valuable work as Board member and his role in nudging GCP from process to action. We are happy to have the continued support of Volcafe as an active GCP Member as we move into our GCP 2.0 strategy.