SCAA’s 2008 Sustainability Award Winners

Essent Energy Trading and Solidaridad (The Netherlands)
Because of this 2008 Sustainability Award winner, coffee husks are now being used as fuel to generate green electricity---a worldwide first. Essent Energy Trading and the development organization Solidaridad introduced a new form of biomass, where coffee husks replace coal and other fossil fuels to produce green electricity at Essent's power stations. The coffee husk is non-edible, so there are no implications with animal food chains, and it’s a way for coffee farmers to earn supplemental income.

Early calculations show that this innovation could lead to a carbon dioxide reduction of at least 90 percent, when compared to an average Dutch power station. The coffee husks used in this program, which originate from Brazil, could generate enough green electricity at Essent's Amer power station in Geertruidenberg, The Netherlands, to benefit more than 100,000 households for a year.

Alianza para la Sostenibilidad/ Sogimex SA/ Ecom Agroindustrial Corp Ltd. (Honduras)
Also an SCAA Sustainability Award winner this year is Alianza para la Sostenibilidad (APS), which is financed by Sogimex SA, a member of Ecom Agroindustrial Corp Ltd. in Honduras. Sogimex/Ecom created the non-governmental organization APS in order to increase sustainability efforts among specialty coffee producers in Honduras. The project initially started as a program where a few producers focused on the Starbucks Coffee Company-initiated C.A.F.E. (Coffee and Farmer Equity) Practices, which evaluates, recognizes and rewards producers of high-quality, sustainably-grown coffee. However, the program developed into a national initiative to: achieve overall sustainability throughout the coffee chain in Honduras, obtain critical certifications, and offer technical assistance to impact producers in the region. Utz Certified, one of the largest coffee certification programs in the world, was used as a platform, enabling producers to comply with strict social, environmental, economic and traceability standards. Today, more than 500 producers are implementing environmental best-practices on their farms, which have inspired similar programs in Uganda, Colombia, Mexico and Kenya.


SCAA’s 2008 Sustainability Award Honorable Mention recipients include:

Selva Negra (Nicaragua)
Sanitation and wastewater management is a worldwide issue. In fact, the United Nations declared 2008 the “International Year of Sanitation.” Representatives at SCAA’s 2008 Sustainability Award Honorable Mention recipient, Selva Negra coffee estate, take this issue seriously. The farm houses better than 400 people during the off season and during the coffee-picking season, this number easily doubles. Such a scenario can create an incredibly daunting environmental and sustainability issue when it comes to sanitation and the use of water. To remedy the situation, Selva Negra created a water system that recycles and saves water and prevents water waste. Their toilet system is ecological and sustainable as the restroom water, along with shower and laundry water, is filtered through rocks and bamboo to eliminate bacteria. The decontaminated water is then routed to an underground pipeline, filtered again, and then used to irrigate a field of citrus trees as well as a sugar cane plantation for the estate’s cattle. The coffee estate’s human waste bio-digesters produce gas for the kitchen.

Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza (Brazil)
SCAA 2008 Sustainability Award Honorable Mention recipient Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza (FAF) is a socially responsible, sustainable, organic farm. The farm’s focus on sustainability helps to provide stable production, while being considerate of the local soil, water and air. Perennial, environmentally-friendly coffee trees grow on the farm, which helps to create viable forests throughout the surrounding area. Cows graze on the farm’s pastures, and the herd’s milk is used at the farm and sold to the local cooperative. Beekeeping has been a tradition on the farm, which boasts a favorable habitat with its abundance of wild flowers and absence of chemical pesticides and herbicides. FAF, also maintains an organic fruit and vegetable garden that provides produce year round. The organic farm sponsors all workers with college aspirations, and all FAF management and operational personnel have a say in farm operations and long-term planning, which supports good governance, development and poverty reduction. In order to spread the word about its philosophy on sustainability, FAF organizes workshops and educational programs in partnership with local communities, universities, schools and other organizations.