A critical enhancement process

A fundamental principle supporting GCP’s vision for a thriving, sustainable coffee sector is to continually increase the demand for and supply of coffee produced following baseline sustainability practices. This is why in 2016 GCP created the Equivalence Mechanism, building on the GCP Baseline Coffee Code, acting as a supportive foundational framework for various sustainable sourcing schemes that met baseline criteria for coffee sustainability then expressed by the GCP Baseline Coffee Code. 

While recognizing and supporting the pioneer role that certification-like sustainability schemes have in advancing sustainable production and consumption, the version of the GCP Equivalence Mechanism (EM 1.2) issued in October 2020 is designed to accommodate a wider range of sustainability schemes, both private and public sector in a credible way.

The updated version is based on a year-long research process — compiling best practices and interviewing stakeholders on their sourcing schemes. A two-month beta testing phase with four private schemes refined the approach and provided the basis for this updated interim version of the Equivalence Mechanism.

For their recognition, GCP assessed the different sustainability schemes against the principles and criteria in the GCP Baseline Coffee Code and the operating practices that schemes should have in place to  be  considered credible and effective. Depending on their assurance model they are classified as GCP Baseline Coffee Code equivalent 2nd party or 3rd party.

What does it mean to be Equivalent 2^nd or 3^rd party? 

For their recognition, GCP assessed the different sustainability schemes against the principles and criteria in the GCP Baseline Coffee Code and the operating practices that schemes should have in place to be considered credible and effective. Depending on their assurance model they are classified as GCP Baseline Coffee Code equivalent 2nd party or 3rd party. 2nd party assurance is often referred to as verification and 3rd party assurance is often referred to as certification. The main difference between these two levels of assurance is that 3rd party assurance includes the oversight of an external body in all assurance activities of the organization that owns the scheme, this includes but goes beyond third-party audits at farm level.  

List of schemes recognized as GCP Baseline Coffee Code: 

Equivalent 3rd party
4C, C.A.F.E Practices, Certifica Minas, Fairtrade and Rainforest/UTZ

Equivalent 2nd party:
 ECOM’s SMS Verified, Enveritas ‘ Enveritas Gold and Enveritas Green, Guaxupé Planet by Exportadora de Café Guaxupé, LIFT by Mercon, Nespresso AAA, Neumann’s NKG BLOOM, and ofi’s AtSource Entry Verified and AtSource Plus.