Colombian Coffee Growers Federation wins Green Apple Awards

The Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) has been recognised for good environmental practices with two Green Apple Awards. “It is a true honour to receive not only one, but two Green Apple Awards tonight,” said FNC´s Director of Europe, Adriana Mejia at the London award ceremony. “This recognition validates the work we do to enhance the well-being of over 500 thousand Colombian coffee growers, while at the same time contributing to mitigate the effects of climate change.” From more than 500 nominees, the FNC was announced as the winner in both the Innovation and Sustainable Water Management categories. The Innovation award highlights the FNC's Coffee Plant Renovation Program, an initiative to transformed Colombian coffee crops into more rust-resistant plantations. As a result of the program, nearly 3.4 billion trees were replaced in the last five years, improving the production capacity of small coffee growers in Colombia, and reducing their exposure to climate-related risks. Currently, more than 400,000 coffee growers have benefited from the program. The FNC received the Sustainable Water Management award for the significant strides it has made through its Ecomill initiative. Ecomill was created by FNC’s Research and Development Center, Cenicafé, to reduce water use and water contamination during post harvest processing. Established in 1994, The Green Apple Awards are organised by The Green Organisation, an independent, not-for-profit environmental group, dedicated to promoting environmental best practise around the world. The FNC is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 1927 that represents over 500,000 Colombian coffee growing families.