Now Accepting Nominations for the 2019 SCA Sustainability Awards

Nominations are now open for the 2019 SCA Sustainability Awards. The deadline to submit an application is December 14, 2018.

The Sustainability Awards were created in 2004 to promote, encourage and honor the efforts of those serving as role models through sustainable projects in the coffee sector. Each year, the SCA Sustainability Council reviews dozens of applications from around the globe.

There are three categories for this award, which will be presented in April 2019 at Re:co Symposium in Boston, USA.

Learn more about each category below and visit our website to submit a nomination.

Sustainability Award: Individual

This is the first year the SCA Sustainability Center will award an individual leader who has significantly contributed to advancing sustainability in the coffee industry. This could be through raising awareness of key issues or developing a project or business model that generates positive social and environmental impacts. Please note that individuals must have spent at least three years working in coffee to be eligible for this award and that products, companies, business models, and ideas do not qualify for the award.

Sustainability Award: Project

This award celebrates innovative projects to expand and promote sustainability within the coffee world. This annual award is open to SCA members who are involved in the coffee industry. Applications must be submitted on behalf of a project implemented for a minimum of three years. Individuals, organizations, businesses, farms and cooperatives may submit applications for multiple projects or programs.

Manos al Agua, a program of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia (FNC), won the 2018 Sustainability Award in the Project Category for their work on intelligent water management at the farm and landscape level in Colombia’s coffee sector.

Sustainability Award: Business Model

In addition to recognizing the hard work of the individuals, businesses and organizations who created and implemented the business model, the award aims to inspire others to initiate similar endeavors. This annual award is open to SCA members who are involved in the coffee industry. Applications must be submitted by, or on behalf of, a business model implemented for a minimum of three years. Individuals, organizations, businesses, farms, and cooperatives may submit applications for multiple business models.

Twin, a non-governmental organization (NGO), won the 2018 SCA Sustainability Awards in the Business Model Category for their innovative aid-through-trade model that markets and trades coffee from smallholder farmers in countries across Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Visit sca.coffee to learn more about the criteria for each category and to submit a nomination. The deadline to submit an application is December 14, 2018. Award recipients will be notified by February 1, 2019.

The Sustainability Committee of the SCA Sustainability Center will review all applications and consider a wide range of applicants, reflecting the depth and breadth of sustainable work being done in all areas across the specialty coffee industry.

If you have any questions on how to complete your application, please contact us via email at sustainability@sca.coffee.