No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeArchiveRainforest Alliance and Nestlé form ‘Ecolaboration' around coffee

Rainforest Alliance and Nestlé form ‘Ecolaboration’ around coffee

Rainforest Alliance and the Nestlé Nespresso Company signed the “Ecolaboration pact” on Monday, an agreement that is aimed at benefiting coffee growers in Costa Rica and across the globe.

The accord guarantees that coffee sold by Nespresso is grown in a sustainable manner. Coffee fields are graded based on a set of over 100 criteria.

If a coffee grower meets 80 percent of the overall criteria, and scores no less than 50 percent in any specific area, a Rainforest Alliance Certified stamp will be placed on the packaged coffee.

Rainforest Alliance could not guarantee that growers would receive a higher price for the certified coffee, but Communications Coordinator Jessica Webb said that “consumers usually prefer a sustainable product over a non-sustainable product.” She noted that in many cases, a higher price is associated with sustainably-grown products.

A press release from Rainforest Alliance, an international conservation organization, said that certified fields will “cover all the aspects of sustainable agriculture, including the conservation of water, protection of wildlife…(as well as) good salaries, drinking water and access to schools and health services” for workers.

Nespresso expects that 80 percent of its coffee bags will have a Rainforest Alliance Certified stamp by the year 2013.

Other countries that will participate in the program include Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Kenya and Mexico.

Coffee was once Costa Rica´s number one cash crop until falling to number three in 2006 behind bananas and pineapples.

Search the TT Back Issues for an interview with the president of Rainforest Alliance, Tensie Whelan, about sustainable coffee.

Trending Now

Costa Rica Hunts for Nicaraguan Hit Squad After Exile’s Assassination

Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) is investigating whether a hit squad tied to Nicaragua’s Ortega-Murillo regime is targeting exiled critics on its soil....

Guatemala Offers Asylum to Nicaraguan Migrants Deported by U.S.

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo announced on Friday that his country will grant asylum to Nicaraguan migrants deported by the United States who do not...

Costa Rica’s Piangua Mollusk Threatened by Pineapple Farm Runoff

Costa Rica’s Térraba-Sierpe National Wetland, a 33,000-hectare haven of mangroves and rivers, is under siege from an unlikely source: pineapple farms. A study by...

Costa Rica and Panama Seek Gold Cup Glory Against North American Giants

With no Caribbean teams advancing, a Central American contingent made up of Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala heads into the quarterfinals of the...

Costa Rica Pushes USA to the Brink but Falls in Penalty Heartbreak

If you just caught the end of the USA vs. Costa Rica Gold Cup quarterfinal, you probably feel like you need another cup of...

Hondurans March to Mark 2009 Coup as Election Battle Heats Up

Thousands of government supporters marched Saturday in the capital of Honduras to commemorate the anniversary of the 2009 coup that ousted then-leftist President Manuel...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica