Shade grown coffee certification

As explained in the introductory post on shade grown coffee, there is no set definition of the term "shade grown."  Coffee may be labeled shade grown even if it is grown under minimal overstory that does little to preserve biodiversity.

The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center has made the most well-known effort to establish criteria for shade grown coffee.  In order to carry their trademarked "Bird Friendly" label, coffee must be grown under a minimum shade cover of 40%, and the overstory should include at least ten different species of shade trees, with no more than 70% of the trees being Inga species.  Pruning of the overstory and the removal of epiphytes is discouraged, and buffer zones are encouraged. These are the most stringent environmental criteria. Bird-Friendly certification is primarily focused on growers in Central and South America, but expanding to Africa. A description of Smithsonian's Bird Friendly criteria is here. 

The Rainforest Alliance has a certification program, sometimes known as ECO-O.K., which they apply not only to coffee, but to other crops as well.  This certification does not focus on  shade growing methods per se, but deals with an array of ecosystem issues such as water conservation, and as well as use of chemicals, community relations, and fair treatment of workers. There are no specific standards for shade management.  Criteria include protecting biodiversity in general, and using polycultures "where practical." More information on Rainforest Alliance coffee standards can be found here.

A comparison of the criteria can be viewed here.

There are pros and cons to the certification process, including the cost to the farmers and roasters (particularly expensive in the case of SMBC), and problems with applying one-size-fits-all biodiversity criteria to different regions. Coffee farmers, particularly small producers, are ultimately in the business of growing coffee to support their families. They are not in the biodiversity preservation business. If we want them to do so, we have to respect that and be willing to make it profitable for them.

Some roasters offer shade coffee that is not certified, but evaluated in various ways. Some say they use independent auditors, or visit the farms themselves. I don't know how many, if any, of these evaluators have experience in actually assessing biodiversity, from a scientific viewpoint. For more on this topic, please see Who evaluates non-certified coffee?

Download a PDF of this post.