News and Updates
COSA Executive Director interviewed in Dagens Industri (Sweden)
COSA Executive Director, Daniele Giovannucci was recently interviewed by the Swedish financial publication ‘Dagens Industri' on COSA's efforts toward independently measuring the distinct sustainability impacts (social, ecological, economic) of agriculture. Read the English language translation of the article here.
COSA Technical and Scientific Sessions, Oct.18-19, 2011, Stockholm, Sweden
The Committee on Sustainability Assessment (COSA) held its annual Technical and Scientific Sessions in Stockholm, Sweden on October 18-19, 2011. A select group of COSA partners and world-renowned scientists gathered to share global learning on measuring sustainable practices and to advance COSA approaches.
This two-day meeting focused on COSA database advances, field methods, survey questions, and indicators.
The agenda is available here and photos from the workshop can be viewed here.
COSA Interesting Fact ...
The amount of time women spend on a crop differ among different sustainability certifications. This can have different implications. Where there is an increase in the already high levels of women’s agricultural work, more labour may be a liability and perceived to be onerous. On the other hand, where such labour is adequately remunerated, it can present a substantial opportunity for women to participate more fully in the cash economy.
This sample includes more than a thousand surveys from Tanzania where each certification (lighter of the colours) is closely matched to very similar control groups (similar darker shade to the right) using Propensity Scoring. In one case, certification actually required less ongoing labor from women. In others it was higher.
Introduction to COSA at the Annual Development Cooperation Conference 2010, (Basel, Switzerland). Watch the following Youtube clips of Daniele Giovannucci's presentation:
Clip 1 (5:02) An introduction to the Committee on Sustainability Assessment (COSA)
Clip 2 (9:35) Sustainability: "You cannot manage what you cannot measure"
The conference included the following plenary presentations:
- Micheline Calmy-Rey, Federal Councillor and Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA)
- Ousseini Salifou, Commissioner on Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
- Daniele Giovannucci, Co-founder of the Committee on Sustainability Assessment (COSA)
- State Secretary Jean-Daniel Gerber, Director State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)
- mbassador Martin Dahinden, Director-General Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
- Marianne Bänziger, Head of Research International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
- Bernard Njonga, President, Citizens Association for the Defense of Collective Interests (ACDIC)
- Rudolf Rechsteiner, President Swissaid
- Sibyl Anwander Phan-Huy, Head of Quality/Sustainability Co-op Markets
- Hans Jöhr, Corporate Head of Agriculture Nestlé
For more information on the conference, please visit the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation website.
Fourth Terra Madra Conference/Salone del Gusto (Turin, Italy)
Part of COSA's broad application to the issue of food security was highlighted at the recent ‘Fourth Terra Madre conference' in Turin, Italy where 6000 attendees heard a leading team of scholars address and debate ‘sustainability and food policies' for a sustainable food future developed over the course of the conference. Daniele Giovannucci of the Committee on Sustainability Assessment (COSA) (fourth from the left in the photo below) was part of the panel and addressed "laws, rights and policies".
The inspiring panel at the closing ceremony of Terra Madre was led by eight leading thinkers from around the world:
- Marcello Buiatti, professor of genetics at the University of Florence (biodiversity and ecosystems);
- Serge Latouche, professor emeritus of economic science at the University of Paris-Sud (social systems and transformation);
- Raj Patel, author and journalist (goods, exchanges and shared resources);
- Daniele Giovannucci, co-founder of the Committee on Sustainability Assessment (COSA) (laws, rights and policies);
- Angelo Consoli, European director of the Foundation on Economic Trends (energy and systemic production);
- Vandana Shiva, scientist and eco-activist (traditional knowledge, gender and immaterial values);
- Manfred Max-Neef, economist and environmentalist (sustainable education);
- Carlo Petrini, Slow Food's founder and president (pleasure and well-being).
Click here for more information on the Fourth Terra Madra conference.
COSA: First Findings of a Global Language for Measuring Sustainability. Watch an excerpt from a presentation by Daniele Giovannucci at the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) Exhibition in Anaheim, California (April 2010).
First COSA Field Report Published - Successful Pilots Complete in Five Countries
COSA partners IISD, CATIE, INCAE/(CIMS) and CIRAD completed the application of COSA in 5 countries. Dozens of farms applying various sustainability initiatives were tested in Costa Rica, Honduras, Kenya, Nicaragua and Peru. The lessons learned are being incorporated into the current Methodology so that COSA is even more adaptable to diverse field and farm conditions.
The ability to apply COSA as a management tool that assesses the impacts of sustainability efforts is becoming a valuable asset and is being incorporated into several sustainability initiatives themselves as they seek improved ways to measure and monitor their efforts.
Download the report for five country findings
COSA Expands Global Reach - From Coffee to Cocoa
Tanzania: Preparations for the first full-scale country application of COSA in Tanzania have begun. Tanzania covers nearly a million sq. kilometres (one-fourth the size of the EU and more than twice the size of California). Agriculture provides 80% of the total employment and coffee is a primary crop with 750,000 producers.
Funding has been approved and partners selected include the Department of Agriculture's Extension Division, Tanzanian Coffee Research Institute (TACRI), The Sokoine University, and several leading cooperative groups. First steps are to adapt the tool with the participation of local stakeholders and then to apply it broadly to both arabica and robusta production. Tanzania also has other 'sustainably produced' crops, so COSA intends to test its sustainable farm management tool with some such as cotton.
Colombia: The Colombia National Coffee Growers Federation has chosen to roll out the COSA tools for farmers in Colombia and is in the process of arranging that effort under the umbrella of CRECE (Centro de Estudios Regionales, Cafeteros y Empresariales) one of the nation's most respected research centers.
Cocoa: Adaptation and testing of the COSA methodology for measuring the impacts of initiatives in the Cocoa sector was recently completed in Ghana under the auspices of the Sustainable Cocoa Partnership. A road map for rolling out the work in Ghana, as part of a larger technical assistance campaign in cocoa has been prepared and is ready for implementation.
SCAN Project Supports COSA - New Partnership Formed
Through a combination of national and international coordination the Sustainable Commodity Assistance Network (SCAN) will provide technical assistance training to producers interested in gaining access to sustainable markets by providing vital training on 'sustainable business management' including:
• Sustainable Agricultural Practices
• Financial Literacy and Risk Management
• Organizational Development
• Traceability and Quality Management Systems
• Market planning and Marketing
SCAN will be implemented at the national level through National Platforms made up of local government, industry, NGOs, research agencies, and producer groups to provide a coordinated and targeted support system dedicated to building sustainable producer enterprises at the field level - particularly among smallholders.
With field networks around the world, SCAN provides an invaluable platform for applying the systems and findings developed in COSA. COSA can aid producers and policymakers in determining effective sustainable farm management strategies within the context of SCAN's broader business facilitation framework- leveraging the knowledge and resources of national and international expertise and resources. Pilot work under SCAN is currently being planned for application to coffee in Tanzania, Peru, and Honduras; and the cocoa sector in Ghana and Indonesia.
Key actors involved to date include:
• Standard-Setters - IFOAM, Fairtrade, Utz Certified, Rainforest Alliance, 4C Association
• Technical Assistance/Umbrella Groups - Solidaridad/Commodity Support Network, CABI International, CIRAD, SNV, ISEAL Alliance, HIVOS
• Industry - Twin Trading, Volcafe and ECO
SCAN is a project of the Sustainable Commodity Initiative (SCI).
For more information on the Committe on Sustainability Assessment (COSA) contact: info@sustainablecommodities.org
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