The future signatories of the draft declaration of intent include all actors in the coffee value chain who can contribute to this shared responsibility: the Swiss retail trade, importers, traders, roasters, label organisations and civil society actors such as NGOs, foundations, universities, and other research institutions.
The initiative promotes the joint assumption of responsibility for a key sector of the Swiss economy and, thereby contributes to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Around 70 per cent of the global coffee trade is conducted in Switzerland. For economic reasons, coffee is therefore of great importance for the country.
In various projects around the world, Swisscontact is committed to making coffee value chains sustainable and fair, and to providing smallholder farmers with a secure income.
In addition to its commitment to sustainable coffee, Swisscontact was also involved in the creation of the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa in 2017. The platform brings together stakeholders from the cocoa and chocolate industry, the public sector, NGOs and research institutes, and works to promote sustainability in the cocoa sector.