What is 4C?

The Common Code for the Coffee Community (4C’s) is a global organisation that works with coffee stakeholders in order to establish sustainable coffee production, trustworthy and fair trading along ALL sectors in the coffee supply chain (whether that is in production, transportation, collection/warehouse, mill/processing, trading/exporting, roasting or retail).

100% Compliance

The 4C Association works with us to achieve 100% coffee sector compliance. The 4C has a Code of Conduct which is a list containing 27 standard principles to achieve and 10 unacceptable practices. 

Coffee Farming

We also work closely with coffee farming communities by teaching them how to make their farms more sustainable as well as enabling them to profit from 3 main sectors:

1. Economic - higher economic outcomes and long-term productivity

2. Social - improved livelihood and fair working conditions

3. Environmental - the preservation of precious landscapes and biodiversity

Training farmers

We now have 300 NESCAFÉ coffee-growing experts working with farmers in 15 countries, offering training in business and advanced agriculture skills. Since 2010 we have helped train more than 700,000 farmers.

Securing farmer's incomes

Our experts are teaching farmers how to diversify their income by growing different crops alongside coffee trees. Gaining these new business skills allows farmers to better manage their farms and improve their livelihoods.

Supporting communities

Coffee farming as way of life, is something we want to keep alive. So, we’re supporting local farming communities and inspiring a new generation to become coffee farmers, with empowerment and upskilling programs.

Surviving with less water

Our plant scientists are growing new varieties of coffee plants around the world, that can thrive in drier conditions, when water is scarce.

Growing resistance

We now have eight new and improved varieties of coffee plants, which are more productive and resilient to threatening diseases, like leaf rust.

Younger, stronger trees

We have been helping farmers to renovate their farms to be more efficient, with younger, stronger trees, that produce more coffee that’s better quality.

Water conservation

Finding ways to conserve water and reduce waste is important to the future of coffee. Our experts teach farmers how to grow high-quality coffee using less water, making more water available to communities and the environment.

Preventing deforestation

In 20 years the world will drink around 50% more coffee than today. Making our coffee farms more productive now, means that our farms won’t have to expand in the future. This is critical in preventing deforestation to meet growing demand.

Creating biodiversity

We are encouraging bees, insects and creating greater biodiversity in the coffee-growing regions with our intercropping and agroforestry programs. With us, growers learn how to farm while developing natural diversity.