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UTZ CERTIFIED
Summary

UTZ CERTIFIED is a certification program for coffee worldwide. It provides independent assurance of responsible production and sourcing. UTZ creates opportunities for farmers to improve business practices and meet market expectations. And UTZ is a credible trust mark for brands to meet their customers' expectations regarding social and environmental responsibility.

Objective  Is the focus of the standard on economic, social, environmental, food safety or organic issues?
 Socio-economic, environmental, and food-safety:
UTZ Standard is based on former EurepGap criteria, but added socio-economic aspects.
Focus is on all three pillars of sustainability: people, planet, profit!
UTZ CERTIFIED facilitates farmers in achieving: better coffee quality, higher productivity, better (cost) efficiency and a premium reflecting the recognition of their buyers for the added value of their certified product.
Why?  Who is asking you to use this system? Is it a market requirement or a voluntary system?
 Voluntary System.
The Utz Standard is not a minimum market requirement, but with its strong GlobalGap link it is becoming more and more an advantage to enter European retail.
Scope of the standard  What kind of processes within your organisation/company should be changed according to the standard’s criteria? Most systems look at the production process, and/or look at the processing of the produce. Some systems look at organisational processes as well, e.g. if democratic structures are in place, how support departments are organized (HRM/financial), if internal control systems are in place, if ILO labour conditions are implemented, etcetera. Additionally the processes of your suppliers or service provider can be part of the standards’ scope as well. This means that you are responsible for the sustainability of their (or part of their) actions as well.
organisational processes Y: in case of small holder productions, a quality management system /internal control system is required.
(on-farm) production Y: including occupational health & safety (OHS) and environment.
processing Y: on farm post harvest product handling and processing and some aspects of central processing in orign countries.
supplier/service provider N: exception in a few cases if supplying services relevant for compliance of farm requirements.
Who can apply?  Not every code or standard can be used by every actor within the supply chain. Some are just targeted to a specific group within the chain, others focus on the complete chain. You can think of the following parties: producers/producer group, processor, exporter/trader, importer, retailer.  
producers/producer groups Small farmers organised in producer groups or cooperatives and plantations.
processor Within chain of custody: is mainly traceability and separation
exporter/trader Within chain of custody: is mainly traceability
importer Within chain of custody: is mainly traceability
retail Within chain of custody: is mainly traceability
Products  Most systems focus on specific products, product groups or sectors. Please look carefully if you produce falls under the scope of the standard.
 Coffee. A cacao and tea code are being developed and submitted for approval.
Markets  Although most systems are used worldwide, they often have their origin or focus in a specific country or region. Some countries/regions prefer a certain code or standard.
 Europe, USA, Japan
Benefits  A very legitimate question is what this specific certification means to you. Does it provide you access to markets, or even to niche markets? Does it guarantee a better price, or maybe even a premium on top of a minimum price? Does it create better access to support services?  
market access Several big retailers are looking specifically for UTZ CERTIFIED coffee. The UTZ CERTIFIED certification assures that a retailer/brand takes its responsibility in sustainable sourcing. UTZ enables brands in communicating this to their customers.
UTZ CERTIFIED developed an online realtime tracebility tool for tracking the origins of products (for companies to communicate to their consumers).
access to niche market Access to support services in origin countries through the Certification Support Network (CSN)
premium An extra price of more than 0 (>0), is negotiated between producer and buyer. The premium reflects the recognition of the buyers for the added value of the certified product.The aggregated information on premium is transparent and accessible fo
other Access to support services in origin countries through the Certification Support Network (CSN.)
Support services  To be able to comply with the requirements of such systems, you may need some support. Various experts in the field of certification are available and can give this (paid/free) support. Certifcation Support Network (CSN) offers support to farmers to improve farming and business practices and supports in creating market access. UTZ offers support to buyers to market their certified products.
Adaptations/investments   - Adaptations to reach good agriculture practoces (GAP) standards, IPM techniques, restricted use of pesticides
- Good record keeping needs to be set up
- Implementation of safe agro-chemical and equipment practices (e.g. pesticide storage, disposal of used containers, etc)
- Adaptations to reach good hired labour standard (e.g. minimum wage, housing for workers, safe working equipment, etc.)
- Water management in coffee post harvest processing
- Policy on food safety
- Managment plan for envrionmental conservation and energy use
- Abandon child labour, sitmulate eduction of on-site living children
- Small farmers organisations need to set up Internal Control System /Quality management System
Costs & Time  Working with these certification systems and implementing the necessary steps is often not an easy task. You have to be aware of the many implications and adaptations you may have to make. This section gives some examples of the kind of investments you to have to think of. Cost of inspection determined by involved Certification body (in country). Where costs are unacceptably high or low, Utz can provide acces to support services through CSN.
Time required for inspection-certification process varies per producer situation and starting point.
System characteristics  In this section you will find a link to the standard itself and some main points of attention.
 The program is based on a certified Code of Conduct. Applicants have to comply with 100% of 'major' requirements (which is obligatory), and >=95% of 'minor' requirements. Additionally, recommendations are set, that are inspected but do not count for (disapproval for certification. System is same for group/smallholder/plantation situations.
For the UTZ code of conduct click here
Verification    
internal inspection Self Assessment is done by the producer(s) and is checked by the external inspection.
external inspection - By a third party certification body (CB).
- CBs are approved by UTZ CERTIFIED and need to be ISO 65 accredited (GlobalGAP, Crops Base has to be in the scope of the accreditation).
Type of label  One of ways to show that a product complies with a specific standard is to label it. Some codes or standards do not use a label at all. Nevertheless, most choose to carry a Business to Business (B2B) or a Consumer label.
 Logo use only when the whole chain of custody is 90% Utz (consumer label)
Who's behind it?  What is the origin of the standard, and who has initiated the idea? Who is the owner of the certification system?
 UTZ CERTIFIED is an independent foundation and non-profit organisation. UTZ means “good” in a Mayan language from Guatemala, where UTZ CERTIFIED started in 2002 as a partnership between growers and buyers. In five years time it has grown to become one of the largest certification programs worldwide and is now expanding further into other commodities.
Trends  The trend section is mainly based on future perspectives of the standard. Are they going to expand to other products, other markets? Is there increasing interest from markets for this specific certification? What can you expect in the coming period?
 Diversification into other products: standards for cacao and tea are at the moment in the pilote phase and will be launched soon. Other standards (cotton, soy, etc.) may follow. Furthermore activities such as traceability systems in palm oil, agro fuels. Revision of standards towards better access for smallholder producers.
Contact UTZ CERTIFIED Head Office
  website UTZ CERTIFIED
   
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