COSA Targets
The Committee on Sustainability Assessment (COSA) directly benefits four main stakeholder groups:
1. Producers: Producers need concrete and locally relevant information on the expected financial and time investments required. COSA provides producers with information, training and specific tools to both select and manage any sustainable practice they choose.
Producers need specific help to:
- Gain a better understanding of the financial and other risks associated with coffee production and entry into sustainable markets
- Gather and monitor data on the social, economic and environmental impacts
- Manage implementation of sustainable practices in the most cost-effective manner
2. Policy Makers: Policy makers need clear and objective information on how different sustainable practices impact producers and their communities. COSA provides an independent and objective platform for collecting and utilizing such information. COSA's multi-criteria analysis is adaptable globally and allows different policy-makers to apply COSA data to different assessment frameworks based on their diverse needs or policy priorities.
3. Traders, Manufacturers and Retailers: Each of these stakeholders have a direct interest in maintaining the stability, quality and good management of their supply base. The COSA tool gives producers critical information for improving farm management and investment choices, resulting in producers and chains that are more sustainable. The COSA project also serves industry players by providing a real-time indication of production trends, challenges and opportunities related to the adoption of sustainable practices.
4. Standards Bodies: Voluntary standards bodies and initiatives need to ensure the ultimate impacts of the criteria and systems they employ to meet their goals. COSA outputs will help by providing a realistic and objective scientific basis for measuring such impacts. They also benefit from saving considerable time and expense to develop a proprietary set of credible metrics.
For more information on the Committee on Sustainability Assessment (COSA) contact: info@sustainablecommodities.org
