ABSTRACT
Sustainability in coffee, which for years was a topic to ignore, avoid, or deal with through projects and charity, was suddenly the focus of fierce brand competition. The sustainability certifiers themselves quickly followed the competition mind-set. Competition started even in Japan, where the main driver was not so much NGO campaigns or concerns about sustainability, but concerns about food safety. NGOs benefited from this competition, as more money than ever was being pumped into the sector. The proliferation and competition of sustainable company programs and certification commitments was now starting to reach its peak. The fierce competition between the coffee companies had driven a rapid uptake of sustainability standards in market. Besides the campaigns and the coffee crisis, there was another simple but urgent reason why Douwe Egberts had to act. National and international coffee brands were starting to compete on who was the most sustainable and were fighting over who could gain most recognition from consumers, clients, and NGOs.
