As Colombian farmers, we know firsthand what initiatives are most important to improve the lives of all stakeholders and preserve the health of our land. Unlike many companies at the end of the supply chain, we have the power to act directly and make an immediate difference.
We strive to be the model for the coffee sector, and push our team to bring innovative ideas to build a business that will be here for generations to come.
Our Planet:
Restoring and Preserving Ecosystems
GCC’s farms were previously managed by large landowners who used conventional and often outdated agronomic techniques that have been commonplace in the coffee sector for decades. Many owners also maintained hundreds of acres of bare pasture for cattle, destabilizing soils and restricting biodiversity.
Across our farm portfolio, our agronomy team has introduced regenerative farming techniques at every stage of development to recover and re-establish our soil and native tree health in order to make our operations more productive, cost-effective and resilient to climate change.
It is critical not only to restore ecosystems, but also actively preserve our lands and waterways, managing our coffee lots as an integrated part of the local environment. We currently own over 2,000 acres of native forest and 30% of our lots are shade-grown.
Many of our farms border national parks, allowing our lands to act as biological corridors for native flora and fauna, increasing the amount of high-value territory for these species to thrive.
Our People: Worker well-being, equity, and formal employment
Change the work culture in rural communities: that is what GCC’s Human Resources and social management team is tasked with every day. Informal employment is a pervasive problem in Colombia, making up around 85% of the total workforce in rural areas.
On top of this, women make up a vanishingly small proportion of workers in the coffee sector, often not provided the same opportunities as men in these communities.
"The tireless work of our team throughout our operations has not only helped revolutionize Colombian coffee production, but has also preserved Antioquian ecosystems and changed the lives of thousands in our community and beyond."
- Boris Wüllner, GCC President
We are truly proud that GCC is leading the coffee industry in a pivotal switch to formal employment and meaningful worker well-being initiatives. We are one of, if not the largest employer in the coffee sector, with nearly 400 full-time 100% formal employees. This means we are providing benefits that are almost unheard of in rural Colombia: things like pensions, health care and required vacation days.
As an equal opportunity employer, almost 30% of our staff is women. We have also sponsored dozens of our workers to return to school to finish their high school degree. We see our initiatives as part of a paradigm shift for coffee-producing regions in Colombia, and absolutely necessary for the benefit of all stakeholders in the coffee supply chain.
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Our Community: Lifting those around us as we grow
GCC does not operate in a vacuum. Our operations are integrated throughout Southwestern Antioquia, directly and indirectly affecting the lives of thousands of people around us. It is our responsibility to ensure our presence brings real prosperity to the region.
GCC’s Sustainability team does diligent work in the field, visiting our farm managers and their families, our neighbors, and local communities. The information they compile gives us the tools to make thoughtful decisions on how to have a positive impact, whether it is road maintenance, installing water filters or sharing in ecological initiatives with a neighboring farm.
One of our largest initiatives, GCC’s Coffee Cherry Buying Program provides thousands of farmers around us the only opportunity to sell their coffee as cherries instead of parchment, a much less time intensive and more profitable way to sell their harvest.
We also offer direct agronomic and technical assistance to over 100 farmers, providing them with the opportunity to learn from our successes and failures in coffee production and share in ecological initiatives.
Certifications:
Groups we work with:
