Isn’t there a danger of duplication and increased burden for farmers arising from the numerous standards?
Yes, there is. Coffee farmers who work with different standards can face multiple audits. These multiple audits or verifications can mean farmers incur extra costs, and have to put in extra effort. To reduce the burden and maximise the benefits for coffee farmers, the 4C Association has joined forces with other initiatives to benchmark its standards. In 2008, the standards and systems of the 4C Association and the Rainforest Alliance were benchmarked. The International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance (ISEAL), together with the Institute for Marketecology (IMO), designed the benchmarking process. The 4C Association is currently in dialogue on this subject with several other schemes that share similar goals.
