Los Volcanes Coffee Responsible Sourcing Policy

Written By Josue Morales

Los Volcanes Coffee, Inc. is a green coffee trading company with a commitment to supply chain responsibility with emphasis on social, economic, and environmental considerations in all relationships with suppliers.

We work with coffee producers closely by creating quality and increasing productivity at farm level and establishing long term relationships. This work consists in identifying the key elements unique to each coffee producing area to maximize the flavor and productivity potential. Our team implements programs that help producers have a better understanding of their growing conditions and processing methods. These programs are based on the interaction people have with plants and soil in order to build a balanced and healthy environment. The results are measured in our ability to replicate quality year after year and sustain long term relationships with coffee roasters around the world thus creating steady, healthy, and profitable benefits for farmers and producers.

Responsible Sourcing Standards

Los Volcanes Coffee, Inc. is committed to the following Core Responsible Sourcing Standards which enable socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable coffee production.

  1. Social Sustainability: considers the impacts of production on people.

    ●  Eradication of child labor and forced labor from supply chains.

    ●  Decent working conditions for farmworkers.

    ●  Gender Equality for women producers and farmworkers.

  2. Environmental sustainability: focuses on the continued maintenance of conserved nature

    ●  Avoiding deforestation.

    ● Good agricultural practices that avoid or minimize negative impacts on water and the
    environment, and that support biodiversity and soil health.

    ●  Practices that support climate resilience (use of shade trees, reduced chemical inputs, and changes to coffee processing methods).

  3. Economic sustainability: refers to the ability of producers and farmworkers to earn sufficient income to live dignified lives.

    ●  Producers’ ability to achieve a living income.

    ●  Farmworkers’ fundamental labor rights, such as freedom of association, collective bargaining, and nondiscrimination, and payment of a living wage.

    ●  Food security for producers and farmworkers.

  4. Compliance with Laws

    Our company is committed to:
    ● Complying with national tax, employment, environmental, and other applicable laws in the

    country where the supplier has its primary residence as well as regulatory requirements related with the operation in countries where the supplier is.

  • ●  Maintaining good practices that would eliminate bribery and corruption, wherever they operate,

    with applicable national anti-bribery laws and regulations, US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA), Federal domestic bribery statute of the USA 18 U.S.C. § 201, and national anti-bribery laws, whichever promotes the highest level of responsible business behavior (see Sources).

  • ●  Maintaining good practices that protect employees by upholding human rights in the workplace in line with the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI) (see Sources).

  • ●  Maintain good practices that would prevent the modern slavery abuses in operations with the intent of following the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended (TVPA) (see Sources).

  • ●  Complying with the requirements for sustainable production according to the seals of certification (see Sources).

    Los Volcanes Coffee, Inc. reserves the right at any time to:

  • ●  Request information and documentation to verify good practices including information

    regarding production.

  • ●  Visit and physically verify the operations of suppliers.

  • ●  Conduct a periodic review of this set of standards and its requirement to ensure that the

    good practices are applicable and relevant to current operations and the rules of law.

  • ●  Ask our key suppliers to review this set of standards and sign this document, confirming their

    policies are in accordance with our Policy.

    Sources:

1. Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) base code

The ETI Base Code is founded on the conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and is an internationally recognised code of labor practice.
ETI Base Code is available here: https://www.ethicaltrade.org/eti-base-code

2. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA)
Latest version, ‘‘Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017’’, can be found here: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-115s1862enr/pdf/BILLS-115s1862enr.pdf

3. Bribery and Corruption
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. A Guide to the USA Foreign Corrupt Practices Act can be found here: https://www.sec.gov/spotlight/fcpa/fcpa-resource-guide.pdf

4. Seals of Certification
• Rainforest Alliance (RFA) Sustainable Agriculture Standard (marketplace traceability only)
• Organic standards (National Organic Program of the United States of America Title 7 CFR part 205)

Josue Morales