Specialty Coffee Association Code of Conduct

https://sca.coffee/code-of-conduct 

The link attached is the code of conduct for the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). The SCA is a membered group of coffee producers, retailers and anyone in between. Their goal is to spread knowledge and raise the standards of every element of the coffee value chain by using a collaborative and progressive approach among its members.  

When reading through the provided code of conduct, we did in fact find what we expected for the organizations’ practices and policies. The code of conduct takes a mixture of an integrity-based and compliance-based approach as it matches with the organizations other stated goals, vision and mission statement. It also highlights that members must share and take part in their core values, including: relevant member value, sustainable coffee industry, community of communities, best people, ethical operation and respect for the individual (Specialty Coffee Association, 2019). Not only do they expect their members to act according to their specific expectations, but they also expect members to follow the law, and urge members to report any incidents if they should occur. Failure for a member to follow this code of conduct and uphold the organization's reputation will result in them losing their membership and lose the ability to participate in the organization in the future.  

As the coffee industry has matured there has been a movement towards sustainable growth, fair trade practices, and the elimination of child labor and poor working conditions. Being that the majority of coffee production is done in Brazil and other developing countries, many producers have needed to utilize unethical production strategies to turn a profit. SCA provides coffee producers with the education and resources to better produce their product and bind their mission with the code of conduct that makes the previous methods unacceptable. Members can raise productivity and practice sustainable growth that will eventually translate into raised income, economic growth, and making previous unethical practices obsolete. By following this code of conduct members are simultaneously acting through Kantian ethics. By taking care of the environment that is used to grow the coffee and the employees who work to produce it, members display respect for humans and the Earth. This code of conduct is an example of how the coffee industry is evolving to a new ethical supply chain as the coffee moves from the ground to your cup.  

Resources  

Specialty Coffee Association. (2019). Code of Conduct. Retrieved November 27, 2019 from https://sca.coffee/code-of-conduct

Connection Between Timeliness and Technology

            The Waltham Watch Company was responsible for helping put the entire world on time back in the mid-1800s. Their pocket watches were known as the highest quality and the most accurate watches at the time. The US Railways relied on the Waltham watches for their operations, and it inspired copycats that couldn’t quite get the same accuracy. Even though it started off as a high socio-economic purchase, the 1860’s American Civil War boosted an affordable Waltham model that was used among the troops, and by the 1940’s, Waltham Watches were held with as high regard as iPhones are today (Laban, 2018).  

            I think that businesses that are built on technology and timeliness have something in common, which is the efficiency of the workflow. Technology is a means in which businesses use in order to get work done in a timelier and efficient manner, but it also has implications with human rights and privacy through the ease of acquiring information. In the Waltham Watch situation, their technological innovation allowed business to become more organized and efficient and they could hold employees more accountable since it was expected that every worker had access to the information of the current time. Even though workers at the time seemed to be happy with such a convenient piece of technology, it had ethical implications in that they had less autonomy in their daily lives. Everyone lived on a strict schedule, and you were expected to be at a certain place at a specific time, overall contributing to an unhappier state for the common worker.

            This wouldn’t be the only time that technology had such an effect on the general population. We are currently in a state where humans around the world are more interconnected than ever, you can search up any question and find the answer within minutes. Watches have become relegated to a symbol of high status or a collector’s item with the advent of smartphones. Even though many people are aware of the risks to their defensive privacy and human rights privacy (credit card information, identity theft), it has become the norm nonetheless, and people are only interacting with technology more and more, losing their rights to privacy in the process.

            Technology also has major implications in the coffee industry, both in the production process and in the methods the coffee is delivered to the consumer. Coffee harvesting and sorting is often considered a low-skill job as evidenced by overseas workers being paid as minimalist as possible, and the same could be said of point-of-sale jobs such as baristas or grocery store cashiers. If organizations get to the point in technology where these lower-skilled jobs can become completely automated for an increase in productivity, would companies choose to do so? Such an idea has a wealth of legal and ethical issues associated with it, but we are already seeing the beginning of cashier-less stores such as Amazon Go. As technology gets more and more advanced, the ease of information and the automation in production methods are going to leave a lot of workers either without a job, or their personal information so readily available that their privacy rights become near meaningless.        

References

Laban, L. (November 27, 2018). The Massachusetts City that sold time to the world. BBC. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20181126-the-massachusetts-city-that-sold-time-to-the-world

Globalization

An increase of firms trading and investing in the coffee industry means that producers had to adapt to the processes of deregulation, privatization, and liberalization (Cleland, 2010). All these processes have negative implications on the producers. For example, liberalization allows corporations to gain a greater share of coffee’s global export revenues which implies less profit and power for producers (Cleland, 2010). These changes to the market have social and political impacts on the producers. On the extreme side of the scale, some producers change their way of life whether it be abandoning their crops, exporting other crops or working at plantations as a means to get a larger wage. Further, the increase in firms politically influenced producers. In Brazil, the change to a liberalized market meant that the government cut taxes on exports as well as subsidies and research and development programs (Cleland, 2010). These reductions meant that Brazilian producers were no longer provided any safeguards to give them a competitive advantage and lost control over the production in their country. This lack of control means that the producers are subject to the inequality gap (Cleland, 2010).

However, an increase of firms has different social and political impacts in their headquartered region. Competitors such as Starbucks and Nescafe have taken on a modern role. Being introduced to new technologies such as Information and Communications Technology allows corporations to become disconnected with producers as they are more focused on meeting the demands of the consumers, being efficient and having economies of scale (Venkatachalam, n.d). Further, headquartered regions are politically impacted by the increase in firms as they face risk with meeting supply demands. For example, during the coffee crisis in 1989 most producers could not meet their quotas, which lead to the price of coffee decreasing (Cleland, 2010). Previous to the crisis there was a trade agreement, the International Coffee Agreement which had the goal of stabilizing 99 percent of the coffee market through quotas and price controls. The failing of this agreement because of the coffee crisis demonstrates the risk suppliers are subject to a lack of supply (Cleland, 2010).

Images (Venkatachalam, n.d).

News article on the current coffee crisis in Brazil: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48631129

References

Cleland, D. (2010). The impacts of coffee production on local producers. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=socssp

Venkatachalam, L. (n.d.). Perspectives on sustainability and globalization and challenges for the coffee sector. Retrieved from http://www.ico.org/event_pdfs/wcc2/presentations/venkatachalam.pdf

The Role Fairtrade Plays as a Union for Coffee Growers

It is a commonly known fact that the working environment for coffee bean farmers is less than optimal. There are many risks that are associated with the profession. Things like child labour, small wages, long working hours as well as a variety of physical hazards such as hearing impairment from machinery, long working hours, stress, health issues from pesticide exposure, etc., are common (“International…”, 2004). The majority of these risks can be attributed to the poverty of the coffee growers. Like other commodities, coffee beans are subject to great flux in price in the world market and this flux in price has a serious effect on the growers and their financial wellbeing (“International…”, 2004). A down turn in the prices of coffee beans can lead to widespread poverty for the growers and a decrease in the quality of working conditions for all those that work for them, including the firing of regular employees to hire women and children who will accept a lower wage (“International…”, 2004). Among others, the rights to a safe workplace and the rights to a fair wage are addressed when discussing the coffee grower’s work environment.

The role of a union is filled by the fairtrade organization for many coffee growers. Fairtrade ensures that even when market prices for coffee beans are down, growers will receive the fairtrade minimum price (“Coffee farmers”, n.d.). This guaranteed price helps growers avoid poverty and the nasty side effects that come with it. “They have also enabled them to increase sales and revenue every year since becoming Fairtrade – in 2011 net revenue was increased by 84%.” (“Oromia Coffee Farmers”, n.d.). Fairtrade also provides communities and coffee businesses with loans to invest in better infrastructure. This investment can lead to things like education for children, better equipment for employees, development of health clinics, etc. (“Oromia Coffee Farmers”, n.d.).

Though, at first glance, there doesn’t seem to be any issues with fairtrade, it is far from a perfect system. One flaw is that in order for fairtrade to work, consumers must be willing to purchase the higher priced fair-trade coffee. Without the consumer’s willing participation, there will be no benefits for the growers. Fairtrade also only represents coffee growers that pay to be a member and so leaves the vast majority of producers to only their local unions or no unions at all (Wydick, 2016). In addition, fairtrade only looks at the benefits for the growers and not at all the employees that are hired by the growers, and the rights that they deserve.

Fair-trade is not perfect but it is a start to improving the welfare of the coffee growers and the environments that they work in. In order for the coffee grower’s situation’s to improve, organizations like fairtrade must continue to bring awareness of the situation to the consumers so that they might buy products that will more benefit the producers. The development of unions in the various countries where the coffee beans are grown will also help the situation. Minimum amounts to pay seasonal employees, minimum ages to hire employees, etc. are all things that the local unions could work to improve in their own countries or communities. With some work and time, the coffee industry may reach a point where it’s unions represent and protect all of the rights of the coffee growers. For an interesting video showing an example of a coffee grower who works with fairtrade, see http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/Farmers-and-Workers/Coffee.

Martinko, K. (2018, October 11). Fairtrade is sadly losing appeal for UK buyers. Retrieved November 5, 2019, from https://www.treehugger.com/culture/fairtrade-losing-some-its-appeal-uk-buyers.html. 

References

Coffee farmers. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2019, from http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/Farmers-and-Workers/Coffee.

International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour Safety and Health Fact Sheet Hazardous Child Labour in Agriculture Coffee. (2004, March). Retrieved November 5, 2019, from file:///C:/Users/Taryn/AppData/Local/Packages/Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/Safety%20and%20health_fact%20sheet_coffee_2004%2003%20(1).pdf.

Oromia Coffee Farmers. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2019, from https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/Farmers-and-Workers/Coffee/Oromia-Coffee-Farmers.

Wydick, B. (2016, January 28). 10 Reasons Fair-Trade Coffee Doesn't Work. Retrieved November 5, 2019, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/10-reasons-fair-trade-coffee-doesnt-work_b_5651663.