A Fact Sheet on the UTZ Seal
What is UTZ (formerly UTZ-Certified)?
UTZ is an independent, nonprofit organization that advocates for an open and transparent market for socially and environmentally responsible products. Its focus is on a sustainability program whose standards are set out in the UTZ Code of Conduct for producers and in the Chain of Custody for sellers. Certification is carried out by independent certification bodies. Overall, the goal is to promote members’ market presence and performance.
For coffee: 186,948 certified smallholder farmers, 1,679 plantations, 821,399 metric tons of certified coffee from 23 countries, representing 10% of the total 2015 coffee harvest (May 2016)
What are the key areas of focus?
- Sustainable farming
- Professionalization of farm management: improvements in productivity and quality, technical support for farmers
- Transparency across the entire supply chain: All transactions between producers and sellers are recorded in an online database (Good Inside Portal). Sellers have the option to make this information available to customers online.
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What are the certification criteria for UTZ?
The Code of Conduct for sustainable agriculture is divided into four sections: management, cultivation, working conditions, and the environment. A total of 123 control points are defined within it. Certification requires compliance with these criteria, the number of which increases over a 4-year cycle. In the first year, 82 control points must be met; in the second, 101; in the third, 111; and finally, 115 in the fourth year.
The Chain of Custody is also divided into four sections: Management, Traceability, Product Labeling, and Product Protection. A total of 25 control points are defined. Which of the 25 control points must be met for certification depends on whether the focus is on administrative traceability or physical traceability.
Initial certification is valid for 1 year. The criteria catalog is designed for a 4-year cycle. Annual audits must be conducted to maintain certification.
How transparent is UTZ regarding the use of social premiums? Not applicable, as UTZ does not have social premiums. The undefined UTZ premium amount cannot be considered as such.
Current Projects
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Project Accomplishments
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Impact Report
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Coffee Circle Foundation e.V.
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Be part of the actionWhat criticisms have been leveled against UTZ?
“Fair Trade”?
UTZ leaves price negotiations to producers and buyers. There is no minimum price, nor is there any pre-financing of the harvest. It is entirely up to the buyers whether UTZ-certified producers can achieve higher selling prices. In doing so, UTZ focuses on the entire market and includes all producers and traders. Existing trade structures and practices remain largely unaffected. The management plan focuses on risk prevention.
“Big Picture Approach”
UTZ frequently collaborates with large corporations (e.g., Nestlé, IKEA) to strengthen the impact of the certification system. Based on the principle of “impact through volume,” a “Big Picture Approach” is pursued. Accordingly, the certification system initially focused on large-scale farmers and plantation owners as its target group. This made the certification system attractive to large corporations as well. Only later was the system opened up to smallholder farmers. UTZ sees itself as a market-driven instrument.
What is the relationship between sellers and producers?
UTZ staff maintain contact with producers on the ground. Sellers of these products in Europe, on the other hand, generally have no need to contact producers in the Global South.
