The 4C Association has graduated to full membership status in the ISEAL Alliance, the global association for social and environmental standards setting organizations. 4C membership was confirmed by a decision of the ISEAL Board of Directors during their meeting on 12th September.
The 4C Association had already joined ISEAL as associate member in 2009. To be eligible for full ISEAL membership, the 4C Association had to undergo an independent external evaluation to demonstrate full compliance with ISEAL´s Codes of Good Practice.
"The 4C Association is very proud to become a full member of the ISEAL Alliance and be part of a leading community of standard setting organizations. By achieving full ISEAL membership, the 4C Association has demonstrated that its standard setting process is credible, transparent and participatory”, stated Melanie Rutten-Sülz, Executive Director of the 4C Association.
As a full member of ISEAL, the 4C Association is adhering to the ISEAL Codes of Good Practice, which ensures that 4C standard-setting practices are credible and effective. This means that:
• the standard-setting process is transparent and open to interested stakeholders;
• the standard has clear objectives, and criteria that meet those objectives;
• there is meaningful participation by those stakeholders that are directly affected by the implementation of the standard;
• there is a balance of input in the discussion and in the decision-making on the standard; and
• the standard will not create unnecessary barriers to trade.
The ISEAL Codes are recognized by several governmental and inter-governmental guidelines as the measure of credibility for voluntary social and environmental standards.
“I would like to congratulate the 4C Association on reaching full membership status,” said Patrick Mallet, Credibility Director of ISEAL. “Through compliance with the ISEAL Codes, 4C is meeting the highest standards of credibility for sustainability standards.”
The 4C Association began as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project in 2002 called the Common Code for the Coffee Community (CCCC) and is now an independent association made up of coffee producers, trade and industry, and civil society. Together the members of the 4C Association developed the 4C Code of Conduct, which sets out social, environmental and economic principles for the sustainable production, processing and trading of green coffee. It has a moderate entry level, including the exclusion of ten Unacceptable Practices, and commits participants to continuous improvement. Through this approach, the 4C Association helps coffee farmers to get started on sustainability and step up from the sustainability baseline to more demanding standards.
Other full members of the ISEAL Alliance are: Accreditation Services International, Fairtrade International, Forest Stewardship Council, International Organic Accreditation Service, Marine Stewardship Council, Rainforest Alliance / Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS), Social Accountability International (SAI), Union for Ethical BioTrade and UTZ CERTIFIED.
Media Contacts:
For media enquiries, please contact Verónica Pérez, Communications Manager, on + 49 176 27424440 or veronica.perez@4c-coffeeassociation.org
