Values and the making of standards in ‘sustainable’ coffee networks: The case of 4C and Nestlé in México

Abstract

The ‘sustainable’ coffee industry has experienced steady expansion in recent decades, due to the emerging demand and values of consumers. Coffee corporations have invested in this market segment, participating in multi-stakeholder initiatives through which they seek to control the definitions of sustainability and to secure the supply chain. After highlighting the ambiguity of the concept of sustainability, the article analyzes the impacts of the 4C code of conduct adopted by Nestlé, in the context of Mexico’s growing coffee crisis. It highlights the existing dissonance between the sustainability proclaimed by the code of conduct and the reality in the coffee producing regions of Mexico where Nestlé sources 4C certified coffee. It concludes that the application of this code is far from adhering to the values of economic, social, and environmental sustainability that it claims to defend.

Governing value(s) and organizing through standards

“…Renard (2022) explores the making of standards for sustainable coffee in Mexico. She explores how Nestlé, the largest buyer of certified coffee in the world, has participated in the making of a private standard for coffee quality (the 4 C standard).…”

“…The logic that underpins the design of the standard is a supply chain approach, whereby the most valuable benefit from applying the standard will be supply chain security. Renard (2022) argues that the consequences of designing the standard in such a way is that the reality of practice is not in line with the values set out in the standard. Her argument is that this gap between the vision and the practice is not due to farmers not knowing how to comply with the standard, but rather there is an obligatory decoupling between the values and the way that Nestlé manages the standard as part of its supply chain logic (see: Busch, 2007).…”