Sustainable Coffee Exchange (SCE)

Sustainable Coffee Exchange aims to strengthen environmental and social sustainability in Viet Nam’s coffee sector by enabling non-state actors—MSMEs, cooperatives, business associations, civil society organisations, and community groups—to understand, adopt, and influence environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices aligned with national priorities and international standards. By the end of the project, these actors will be better able to improve practices within their organisations, participate meaningfully in policy dialogues, and contribute to sustainable, inclusive coffee value chains in Lam Dong and Son La.  

The SCE project is funded by the European Union, and additional support is provided by JDE Peet’s and other partners. The project is implemented by SNV and the Management and Sustainable Development Institute (MSD). The project runs for 36 months, from February 2026 to January 2029. 

Coffee is one of Viet Nam’s key agricultural export products, particularly to the European Union. However, rapid agricultural expansion has contributed to deforestation, land degradation, and increased vulnerability to climate change. 

At the same time, new EU regulations such as the European Green Deal, EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) are raising requirements for ESG compliance, creating additional pressure on the sector to meet international sustainability standards. 

Despite growing awareness, MSMEs and cooperatives face significant barriers to adopting ESG practices, including limited access to training and resources, high implementation costs, and limited access to climate finance. Non-state actors also face challenges in supporting ESG adoption due to gaps in knowledge, coordination, and engagement.

SCE applies a Finance-First ESG design, making sustainability adoption commercially rational by linking measurable ESG improvements to green credit access, corporate sourcing premiums, and investor readiness. Regulatory requirements, including the EUDR and CSDDD, create market pressure to improve, while access to finance and public recognition through ESG leadership awards provide the commercial pull that sustains adoption beyond the project period. 

Activities work across three areas. First, formative research and capacity strengthening equip non-state actors—business associations, civil society organisations, and cooperatives—to engage in multi-stakeholder platforms and lead community-based data initiatives that feed evidence into provincial and national policy dialogue. Second, a co-designed ESG Scorecard, one-on-one advisory coaching, and an ESG Resource Hub give MSMEs and cooperatives the practical tools to assess, plan, and improve ESG performance. Third, investor matchmaking events and an ESG Leadership Awards programme create tangible commercial incentives for verified ESG progress. 

SCE builds directly on Café-REDD and DFCD programmes in Son La and Lam Dong, which mobilised EUR 4.6 million in climate finance and established the finance-linked sustainability model that SCE now scales across the broader coffee value chain. 

SCE targets three interconnected outcomes that together drive systemic change in how ESG practices are adopted, governed, and financed across Viet Nam's coffee sector. 

By Year 3, 70% of participating non-state actors, including business associations, civil society organisations, and community groups, will be active contributors in multi-stakeholder platforms addressing ESG issues in the coffee sector. This reflects a fundamental shift in how non-state actors engage: from passive observers to credible, evidence-based voices in sector governance and policy dialogue. 

The project will leverage 12 multi-stakeholder platforms across Lam Dong and Son La to place ESG practices on the formal agenda of provincial and national sector governance processes—six platforms by Year 2 and a further six by Year 3. These platforms bring together government, private sector, civil society, and community actors, creating structured spaces for accountability and collective action on responsible business conduct. 

By Year 3, 40% of MSMEs and cooperatives using the ESG Scorecard will actively engage civil society or community members in their ESG processes, up from 20% in Year 2. This indicator captures the depth of ESG adoption, not just whether enterprises use the scorecard, but whether their ESG improvement processes are transparent, inclusive, and community-accountable. 

Underpinning all three outcomes is SCE's overarching impact target: 75% of MSMEs and cooperatives involved in the action will improve against their baseline ESG scorecard results by Year 3, disaggregated by location, type, Underpinning all three outcomes is SCE's overarching impact target: 75% of MSMEs and cooperatives involved in the action will improve against their baseline ESG scorecard results by Year 3, disaggregated by location, type, gender, ethnicity, and disability. This headline figure reflects SCE's Finance-First ESG design, where measurable ESG performance improvement is the condition that unlocks access to green finance, corporate sourcing premiums, and sustainable investment.