In the Pursuit of Sustainability: Lessons from the Coffee Sector

Robert Armstrong Rice

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12

| Peer-Reviewed

In the Pursuit of Sustainability: Lessons from the Coffee Sector

Robert Armstrong Rice

Published in International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy (Volume 3, Issue 1)

Received: 17 November 2014 Accepted: 26 January 2015 Published: 16 February 2015

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

Recent years have shown an impressive and growing concern about sustainable production of food, fiber and oil crops. As more crops become incorporated into the sustainability realm, which often involves a certification of prescribed production methods/conditions, lessons can be learned from sectors with extant sustainability initiatives. For biofuels, a sector with rapidly expanding areas devoted to cropland worldwide and some debated benefits in both social and environmental issues, lessons from the sustainable coffee sector’s history and development can provide insights about possible paths toward sustainability. This paper presents some of the history and development of the sustainable coffee sector, emphasizing the role of science and inter-institutional relations in the emergence of several initiatives. A number of key issues and themes to consider are explored, hopefully providing some direction to those in the biofuels sector with an interest in sustainability.

Published in	International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy (Volume 3, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12
Page(s)	14-19
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Sustainability, Coffee, Biofuels, Certification, Eco-Labels

References

[1]	Naylor, Rosamond L., Adam Liska, Marshall B. Burke, Walter P. Falcon, Joanne C. Gaskell, Scott D. Rozelle, and Kenneth G. Cassman 2007. The ripple effect: biofuels, food security, and the environment Agronomy and Horticulture—Faculty Publications (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) Paper 386.
[2]	Tilman, David, Robert Socolow, Jonathan A. Foley, Jason Hill, Eric Larson, Lee Lynd, Stephen Pacala, John Reilly, Tim Searchinger, Chris Somerville, Robert Williams, 2009. Beneficial biofuels—the food, energy, and environment trilemma Science 325:270-271.
[3]	Tscharntke, Teja, Yann Clough, Thomas C. Wanger, Louise Jackson, Iris Motzke, Ivette Perfecto, John Vandermeer, Anthony Whitbread, 2012. Global food security, biodiversity conservation and the future of agricultural intensification. Biological Conservation 151:53-59.
[4]	Pimentel, David, Alison Marklein, Megan A. Toth, Marissa N. Karpoff, Gillian S. Paul, Robert McCormack, Joanna Kyriazis, Tim Krueger, 2009. Food versus biofuels: environmental and economic costs Human Ecology 37:1-12.
[5]	ICO (International Coffee Organization) 2014. See the website link: http://www.ico.org/mission07_e.asp?section=About_Us accessed on 16 September 2014.
[6]	Gao, Yan, Margaret Skutsch, Omar Masera and Pablo Pacheco, 2011. A global analysis of deforestation due to biofuel development. Working Paper 68. CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia.
[7]	Rice, RA 2013 Culture, agriculture, and nature. In Robert W. Thurston, Jonathan Morris and Swawn Steiman (eds) Coffee: A comprehensive guide to the bean, the beverage and the industry. Rowman and Littlefield: New York, pp. 41-52.
[8]	Giovannucci, D. and J. Potts with B. Killian, C. Wunderlich, G. Soto, S. Schuller, F. Pinard, K. Schroeder, I. Vagneron 2008. Seeking sustainability: COSA preliminary analysis of sustainability initiatives in the coffee sector. IISD/Commmittee on Sustainability Assessment: Winnipeg, Canada 36pp.
[9]	Vannini, J. 1994. Nearctic avian migrants in coffee plantations and forest fragments of south-western Guatemala. Bird Conservation International 4(2/3):209-232.
[10]	Greenberg, R., P. Bichier, A. Cruz-Angon, and R. Reitsma 1997a. Bird populations in shade and sun coffee plantations in central Guatemala. Conservation Biology 11(2):448-459.
[11]	Greenberg, R., P. Bichier and J. Sterling 1997b. Bird populations in rustic and planted shade coffee plantations of eastern Chiapas, Mexico. Biotropica 29(4):501-514.
[12]	Greenberg, R., P. Bichier, A. Cruz-Angon, C. MacVean, R. Perez and E. Cano 2000. The impact of avian insectivory on arthropods and leaf damage in some Guatemalan coffee plantations. Ecology 81(6):1750-1755.
[13]	Document archived at the Smithsonian’s Migratory Bird Center, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC.
[14]	Rice, R. and J. Ward 1996. Coffee, conservation and commerce in the western hemisphere: how individuals and institutions can promote ecologically sound farming and forest management in northern Latin America. Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center/Natural Resources Defense Council: Washington, DC 47pp.
[15]	Rice, R., A. Harris and J. McLean 1997. Proceedings of the 1st sustainable coffee congress. Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center: Washington, DC 445pp.
[16]	CPCP, 2001. Conservation principles for coffee production, Consumer’s Choice Council, Washington, DC. May, 2001.
[17]	Starbucks Coffee, http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/sourcing/coffee Accessed 25 September 2014.
[18]	UTZ Certified, https://www.utzcertified.org/aboututzcertified/the-story-of-utz Accessed 25 September 2014.
[19]	4C Program, http://www.4c-coffeeassociation.org/about-us/history.html#2 Accessed 25 September 2014.
[20]	Nespresso AAA Program, website accessed October, 2014: http://www.nestle-nespresso.com/ecolaboration/sustainability/coffee
[21]	Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, www.si.edu/smbc , website accessed 20 September 2014.
[22]	Goodland, R. 2002. Ecolabeling: opportunities for progress toward sustainability. Consumers Choice Council: Washington, DC 29pp.
[23]	Ponte, Stefano, 2004. Standards and sustainability in the coffee sector: a global value chain approach. International Institute for Sustainable Development (www.iisd.org).
[24]	STAP, 2010. Environmental certification and the GEF: a STAP advisory document. UN Environmental Program/Global Environment Facility; (www.unep.org/stap)
[25]	Tscharntke, Teja, Jeffrey C. Milder, Götz Schroth, Yann Clough, Fabrice DeClerck, Anthony Waldron, Robert Rice, Jaboury Ghazoul, 2014. Conserving biodiversity through certification of tropical crops at local and landscape scales. Conservation Letters, doi: 10.1111/conl.12110.
[26]	Blackman, Alen. and Jorge Rivera, 2011. Producer-level benefits of sustainability certification. Conservation. Biology 25:1176–1185.
[27]	World Business Council for Sustainable Development 2007, Biofuels Issue Brief, Energy and Climate Focus Area, WBCSD: Geneva, Switzerland 12 pp. Downloaded at: http://www.wbcsd.org/Pages/EDocument/EDocumentDetails.aspx?ID=106&NoSearchContextKey=true

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Robert Armstrong Rice. (2015). In the Pursuit of Sustainability: Lessons from the Coffee Sector. International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy, 3(1), 14-19. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Robert Armstrong Rice. In the Pursuit of Sustainability: Lessons from the Coffee Sector. Int. J. Environ. Prot. Policy 2015, 3(1), 14-19. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Robert Armstrong Rice. In the Pursuit of Sustainability: Lessons from the Coffee Sector. Int J Environ Prot Policy. 2015;3(1):14-19. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12,
  author = {Robert Armstrong Rice},
  title = {In the Pursuit of Sustainability: Lessons from the Coffee Sector},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy},
  volume = {3},
  number = {1},
  pages = {14-19},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijepp.20150301.12},
  abstract = {Recent years have shown an impressive and growing concern about sustainable production of food, fiber and oil crops. As more crops become incorporated into the sustainability realm, which often involves a certification of prescribed production methods/conditions, lessons can be learned from sectors with extant sustainability initiatives. For biofuels, a sector with rapidly expanding areas devoted to cropland worldwide and some debated benefits in both social and environmental issues, lessons from the sustainable coffee sector’s history and development can provide insights about possible paths toward sustainability. This paper presents some of the history and development of the sustainable coffee sector, emphasizing the role of science and inter-institutional relations in the emergence of several initiatives. A number of key issues and themes to consider are explored, hopefully providing some direction to those in the biofuels sector with an interest in sustainability.},
 year = {2015}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - In the Pursuit of Sustainability: Lessons from the Coffee Sector
AU  - Robert Armstrong Rice
Y1  - 2015/02/16
PY  - 2015
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
SP  - 14
EP  - 19
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7536
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12
AB  - Recent years have shown an impressive and growing concern about sustainable production of food, fiber and oil crops. As more crops become incorporated into the sustainability realm, which often involves a certification of prescribed production methods/conditions, lessons can be learned from sectors with extant sustainability initiatives. For biofuels, a sector with rapidly expanding areas devoted to cropland worldwide and some debated benefits in both social and environmental issues, lessons from the sustainable coffee sector’s history and development can provide insights about possible paths toward sustainability. This paper presents some of the history and development of the sustainable coffee sector, emphasizing the role of science and inter-institutional relations in the emergence of several initiatives. A number of key issues and themes to consider are explored, hopefully providing some direction to those in the biofuels sector with an interest in sustainability.
VL  - 3
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Robert Armstrong Rice

Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Biological Conservation Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, USA

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Robert Armstrong Rice. (2015). In the Pursuit of Sustainability: Lessons from the Coffee Sector. International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy, 3(1), 14-19. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Robert Armstrong Rice. In the Pursuit of Sustainability: Lessons from the Coffee Sector. Int. J. Environ. Prot. Policy 2015, 3(1), 14-19. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Robert Armstrong Rice. In the Pursuit of Sustainability: Lessons from the Coffee Sector. Int J Environ Prot Policy. 2015;3(1):14-19. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12,
  author = {Robert Armstrong Rice},
  title = {In the Pursuit of Sustainability: Lessons from the Coffee Sector},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy},
  volume = {3},
  number = {1},
  pages = {14-19},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijepp.20150301.12},
  abstract = {Recent years have shown an impressive and growing concern about sustainable production of food, fiber and oil crops. As more crops become incorporated into the sustainability realm, which often involves a certification of prescribed production methods/conditions, lessons can be learned from sectors with extant sustainability initiatives. For biofuels, a sector with rapidly expanding areas devoted to cropland worldwide and some debated benefits in both social and environmental issues, lessons from the sustainable coffee sector’s history and development can provide insights about possible paths toward sustainability. This paper presents some of the history and development of the sustainable coffee sector, emphasizing the role of science and inter-institutional relations in the emergence of several initiatives. A number of key issues and themes to consider are explored, hopefully providing some direction to those in the biofuels sector with an interest in sustainability.},
 year = {2015}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - In the Pursuit of Sustainability: Lessons from the Coffee Sector
AU  - Robert Armstrong Rice
Y1  - 2015/02/16
PY  - 2015
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
SP  - 14
EP  - 19
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7536
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150301.12
AB  - Recent years have shown an impressive and growing concern about sustainable production of food, fiber and oil crops. As more crops become incorporated into the sustainability realm, which often involves a certification of prescribed production methods/conditions, lessons can be learned from sectors with extant sustainability initiatives. For biofuels, a sector with rapidly expanding areas devoted to cropland worldwide and some debated benefits in both social and environmental issues, lessons from the sustainable coffee sector’s history and development can provide insights about possible paths toward sustainability. This paper presents some of the history and development of the sustainable coffee sector, emphasizing the role of science and inter-institutional relations in the emergence of several initiatives. A number of key issues and themes to consider are explored, hopefully providing some direction to those in the biofuels sector with an interest in sustainability.
VL  - 3
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download