Consultation workshop "Research meets practice": The effectiveness of voluntary sustainability standards in the global coffee production

On September 7th, the TRANSSUSTAIN research group held a consultation workshop aimed at bridging the gap between research and practice by sharing the preliminary results of the first 3-year research phase of the project. A select group of experts from the coffee industry, certification organizations, civil society and research centers actively participated on this event, providing input on priorities and relevant research questions for the second project phase of implementation.

During the half-day workshop, Prof. Dr. Thomas Dietz presented a new tool for benchmarking coffee Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS); PhD candidate Andrea Estrella shared the preliminary results of the impact evaluation of VSS in the economy of smallholders in Colombia’s coffee belt; and PhD candidate Janina Grabs discussed the effects of coffee certifications in social and environmental practices of Honduran producers. The experts provided invaluable feedback to the TRANSSUSTAIN team, which will improve the quality of the soon to be published articles. Then, the group engaged in a rich discussion on the issues in coffee VSS that warrant increased research attention. Some of the most pressing topics that arose were to what extent VSS help achieve the overall goal of sustainability; the necessity of VSS to collaborate closely with governments to improve enforcement mechanisms; and the coexistence of a multiplicity of standards in the market and how to improve coordination to achieve higher effectiveness.