Sumatra’s Coffee Cooperatives Step Up on Due Diligence

For the coffee cooperatives of Sumatra, human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) is fast becoming part of doing business with the world. On 21 May 2026, sixteen representatives, nine of them women, from eight Fairtrade certified small producer organisations (SPOs) across Sumatra Island, Indonesia joined the third virtual HREDD session organised by Fairtrade NAPP with support from German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), under the project “Enabling Compliance of Fairtrade Supply Chains with New EU Regulations”.

The four-hour session had one clear goal: to prepare cooperatives to conduct, validate, and act on their own risk assessments using Fairtrade’s risk assessment tools. With new European Union regulations reshaping what buyers expect from their supply chains, cooperatives that build these skills now strengthen their place in the global coffee market. Here is what the participants took away.

Making Sense of the Rules That Shape the Coffee Trade

HREDD can feel like a maze of acronyms, so the session opened with a refresher on the HREDD scope and process, along with a look at the newest regulations, including the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (EUCSDDD). Rather than presenting these as distant legal texts, facilitators connected them to the daily reality of coffee cooperatives: businesses operating in the EU are increasingly likely to work with supply chain partners who are ready on HREDD, so cooperatives that prepare now reduce the risk of losing their place in global value chains.

Facilitators also used relatable analogies to make abstract requirements stick. A written declaration by management or members to respect human rights and the environment, for instance, was compared to a marriage certificate: a formal commitment that makes intentions visible and binding. By the end of this segment, participants understood not only what HREDD asks of them, but why it matters to their business.

Hands On with the Fairtrade Risk Assessment Tool

The heart of the session was practice, not theory. Participants worked directly with the Fairtrade risk assessment tool, completing it step by step and discussing where organisations commonly get stuck. They were also introduced to several tools available for HREDD risk assessment and learnt how each one supports a systematic look at risks across an organisation.

This practical work responded to a real need. Some of the participating cooperatives are newly certified, and for several participants this was their first structured risk assessment. Leaving the session, they knew how to gather the data, complete the form for their own cooperative, and use the results as the starting point for an action plan.

Learning to Question Their Own Findings

A risk assessment is only useful if its results can be trusted. A dedicated part of the session therefore focused on validation: reviewing risk assessment results critically, checking their accuracy and reliability, and only then building an action plan on top of them.

Participants practised planning remediation for the most salient risks and learnt to shape action plans that are workable and tailored to their own conditions and resources, rather than copied from a template. This step, from assessment to validated findings to realistic remediation, is what turns a compliance form into a management tool a cooperative can actually use.

A Cyclone and a Case Study Bring Risks Close to Home

Two moments made the risks feel concrete. During the discussion on environmental risks and their impact on human rights, one participant pointed to cyclone Senyar, which caused massive flooding and landslides in Sumatra last year, as a lived example of how climate change affects people’s rights and of the responsibility governments carry in responding. The example anchored a topic that can otherwise feel overwhelming: farmers often carry the heaviest burden of climate change while having the least influence over policy.

A case study on unpaid overtime work then opened up the many dimensions of working condition violations and prompted participants to look for solutions from multiple perspectives. Through discussion and knowledge sharing, participants connected the 13 broad areas of HREDD to situations they might encounter in their own organisations.

In Their Own Words

“I received so much new information during this training because I am still new to HREDD, and so is our cooperative, which is newly Fairtrade certified. The materials and the way the message was conveyed were just right, so it was easy to understand. It has made it easier for us to understand HREDD and to do our work, such as filling out the Fairtrade risk assessment form for our cooperative to develop an action plan. I hope I can make the adjustments needed in our cooperative to meet the HREDD standard.”

- Lisa Rahmayani, Koperasi Petani Kopi Arabika

“This workshop expanded my knowledge of HREDD. The presentation materials shared after the training, and the examples and guidance on completing the Fairtrade risk assessment, were very useful. In the future there may be a need for another training, because the materials are dense, particularly the Fairtrade risk assessment.”

- Rahmayani Rizki, Koperasi Produsen Bumi Arabika Gayo

“I gained deeper knowledge of doing risk analysis, particularly using the Fairtrade risk assessment tool, which I will need when conducting the Fairtrade risk assessment in the future.”

- Masnawati, Koperasi Serba Usaha Gayo Antara

The Real Test Begins at Home

The session was designed as a springboard, not an endpoint. Participants will now share what they learnt with their boards and wider management teams. Each cooperative plans to collect the data it needs and conduct its own risk assessment between the third and fourth quarters of 2026, once its board and management are ready. A Fairtrade NAPP consultant will write to each SPO to offer assistance, scheduled around each organisation’s needs and the specific issues it faces. Because a risk assessment is the private business of each cooperative, this assistance stays limited to the areas where an organisation is unsure, keeping its data protected.

Challenges remain. HREDD covers 13 broad areas, and participants bring diverse educational, occupational, and cultural backgrounds, so building shared understanding takes time.  Facilitators encouraged cooperatives to treat this year as a learning year: mistakes are part of the process, HREDD is a continuous journey, and the conversation stays open with all stakeholders, especially as the Fairtrade HREDD standard comes into effect in the next round. A physical workshop on policy development is planned as the next step in the series.