SUSTAINABILITY IN THE COFFEE SUPPLY CHAIN: GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS, QUALITY CERTIFICATIONS, VOLUNTARY SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS AND CARBON NEUTRALITY

This chapter uses the analytical and operational framework of the Sustainability Strategy for Geographical Indications to examine sustainability in the coffee supply chain through the interplay between instruments of territorial differentiation, private market coordination mechanisms, and new climate-related requirements. The central argument is that contemporary coffee sector competitiveness can no longer be understood in terms of sensory quality or production efficiency alone, but must be situated at the intersection of origin, socio-environmental compliance, supply chain governance, and climate performance. Based on a literature review, documentary analysis, technical visits and interviews conducted in the Mogiana region, the study conceptually and functionally distinguishes four categories frequently conflated in sectoral debates: geographical indications, quality labels, voluntary sustainability standards, and certifications of production techniques. The study demonstrates that, although these instruments may operate cumulatively in adding value to coffee, they have distinct regulatory objectives. The text also analyses the growing prominence of carbon neutrality and regenerative agriculture, demonstrating that the climate agenda is shifting the debate from mere market differentiation to the measurement of emissions and carbon removal, and the adoption of regenerative practices such as agroforestry systems, composting, bio-inputs and energy efficiency. However, it is also argued that the proliferation of private standards and due diligence requirements may increase compliance costs, reinforce power imbalances, and have exclusionary effects, particularly for smallholders. The study concludes that the sustainability of the coffee supply chain depends less on the accumulation of individual certifications and more on the development of coherent institutional arrangements that can integrate territorial valorisation, traceability, socio-environmental governance and climate integrity in a way that is both economically viable and socially inclusive.