The Eu's Commitments to Sustainable Development: the Contribution of Certifications for Cocoa
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BACHELOR THESIS THE EU'S COMMITMENTS TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: THE CONTRIBUTION OF CERTIFICATIONS FOR COCOA Carolin Witte FACULTY OF BEHAVIOUR AL, MANAGEMENT AND S OCIAL SCIENCES BACHELOR OF SCIENCE EUROPEAN PUBLIC ADMI NISTRATION EXAMINATION COMMITTEE Dr. M. L. Franco García M. Ramos Mejía, MSc 24 February 2017 Table of Contents ABSTRACT ................................ ................................ ................................ .............................. II LIST OF TABLES ................................ ................................ ................................ .................. III LIST OF FIGURES ................................ ................................ ................................ ................ III LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................ ................................ ................................ III 1. INTRODUCTION ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 1 1.1 Background ........................................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 The Global Cocoa Market .................................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Research Questions ............................................................................................................................ 5 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................ ................................ ............................. 6 2.1. Certification Systems for Sustainable Cocoa ..................................................................................... 6 2.1.1. Fairtrade ............................................................................................................................................ 6 2.1.2. UTZ Certified .................................................................................................................................... 7 2.1.3. Rainforest Alliance ............................................................................................................................ 8 2.2. The EU’s Goals for Sustainable Development in the Global South ................................................... 9 2.3. Analytical Framework ...................................................................................................................... 12 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................ ................................ ............... 13 3.1. Research Design ............................................................................................................................... 13 3.2. Data Collection ................................................................................................................................. 15 4. FINDINGS ................................ ................................ ................................ ................... 16 4.1. The Effects of Certification Schemes ............................................................................................... 16 4.1.1. Economic Dimension ...................................................................................................................... 17 4.1.2. Social Dimension ............................................................................................................................ 19 4.1.3. Environmental Dimension ............................................................................................................... 21 4.1.4. Effects of Certification in the Context of the EU’s Goals for Sustainable Development ................ 22 4.2. The Current Role of Certification Schemes as Tools for Achieving the EU’s Goals for Sustainable Development in the Global South ..................................................................................................... 24 4.3. The Main Barriers for Small Producers of Cocoa for Starting and Continuing with Certification Schemes ............................................................................................................................................ 25 4.4. Strategies to Overcome Barriers ...................................................................................................... 26 5. DISCUSSION ................................ ................................ ................................ ............... 27 6. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................ ...................... 28 REFERENCES ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 30 ANNEX ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 36 Annex A: Tables of FAOSTAT Data ............................................................................................................ 36 Annex B: Table of International Trade Centre Data ................................................................................... 51 i Abstract Cocoa is produced in the global south but predominantly consumed in Europe. Developed by non- governmental actors, certification schemes have emerged as measures to combat poverty, preserve biodiversity and improve small producers’ livelihoods in the global south. In the light of the UN’s new SDGs, the EU is redesigning its approach to sustainable development. This research therefore aims at assessing the role of certifications for cocoa in current EU policies and the future potential for such schemes in policies as tools for sustainable development. This is done by analyzing the effects of certification schemes for cocoa, the conditions for small producers for participating in such a scheme and by identifying possible strategies to overcome potential barriers for participation. It is concluded that the EU can only rely on certification schemes as a tool for sustainable development to a limited extent in the case of cocoa, due to their inconsistent effectiveness in the areas of poverty alleviation, gender equality and education. However, effects on other SDGs are predominantly positive. Accessibility to certification schemes remains a challenge which needs further attention when certifications are implemented to foster sustainable development in the global south. ii List of Tables Table 1: Cocoa Bean Production in 2013/2014 in Thousand Tons per Country (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2016) ............................................................................................. 3 Table 2: Trend of Major Global Chocolate Manufacturers’ Commitments to Purchase Sustainably Sourced Cocoa (Fountain & Hütz-Adams, 2015; Mondelez International, 2016; Nestlé, 2014, 2015, 2016) ........................................................................................................................................................ 4 Table 3: Research Questions and Methods ........................................................................................... 14 Table 4: Overview of Contribution of Certifications of Cocoa for the EU's Goals for Sustainable Development ......................................................................................................................................... 22 List of Figures Figure 1: Schematic Analytical Framework .......................................................................................... 13 List of Abbreviations ACP African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States EU European Union FLO Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International ICCO International Cocoa Organization MDGs Millennium Development Goals SDGs Sustainable Development Goals TEU Treaty on European Union TFEU Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union UN United Nations iii 1. Introduction The three-fold focus of this research project will firstly describe the EU’s goals for sustainable development and the effects of certifications schemes for cocoa, secondly identify the main barriers for small producers of cocoa to start or continue with such a scheme and finally assess how the EU and the small producers themselves can reduce these barriers. 1.1 Background The cocoa tree, or Theobroma , native to the Amazonian rainforest, is nowadays mainly cultivated in Western African countries such as Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, but smaller quantities are also produced in Latin America as well as in South East Asia. Small-scale farmers are responsible for 80 to 90% of the world’s cocoa bean production (World Cocoa Foundation, 2014). While there is no official definition of small-scale producers, usually family-run farms with a production area of up to 10 hectares are considered small-scale producers in the case of cocoa (Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation, 2014), with the definition depending on the different contextual factors per country or region and the situation relative to other farmers of the same crop (Calcaterra & Aidenvironment, 2013; Dixon, Taniguchi, Wattenbach, & Tanyeri-Arbur, 2004). Theobroma requires a hot and humid climate as it is found within 20 degrees of latitude north and south of the equator (World Cocoa Foundation, 2014). Therefore, it is not possible to cultivate cocoa where it is consumed most: in Europe. With EU countries being among the biggest importers of cocoa as well as the biggest exporters of manufactured cocoa products worldwide, the responsibility of the EU for the effects of cocoa consumption cannot be