Coffee for Peace Wins Prestigious Business for Peace Award
September 11, 2020 /3BL Media/ - Felicitas “Joji” Bautista Pantoja, Co-Founder of Business Call to Action member company, Coffee for Peace has won the Oslo Business for Peace Award for 2020.
Pantoja, is one of three winners this year to win the award. The Oslo Business for Peace Award is given to business leaders annually as individuals, for their outstanding businessworthy accomplishments; leaders who apply their business energy ethically and responsibly, creating stronger economic and societal value.
Alongside Pantoja, the other two winners are Marc Benioff, CEO and Co-Founder of Salesforce and James Mwangi, one of Africa’s most renowned entrepreneurs, who is the Managing Director and Group CEO of Equity Group Holdings.
An independent Award Committee of Nobel Laureates in Peace and Economics selected the three business leaders to receive the award this year.
Based in the Philippines, Coffee for Peace uses coffee production as a tool to address the economic, environmental and peace issues prevalent in conflict-affected communities. The company provides training to indigenous and rural communities, eventually the trained farmers and communities become suppliers of coffee cherries and coffee beans to Coffee for Peace. Through this initiative, communities that have long been caught up in conflict are given stable livelihood opportunities.
The social enterprise joined BCtA in 2017 with an inclusive business commitment to train 500 conflict-affected farmers to receive certification in Good Agricultural Practices for coffee farming and increasing the number of farmers in its supply chain from 100 to 600 while tripling their incomes. Since then, “Coffee for Peace has helped create sustainable livelihoods for indigenous and migrant groups in rural areas, enabling over 880 farmers to escape poverty and build their coffee production capacity,” reads a statement from the Oslo Business for Peace Award.
Pantoja has dedicated her career to building peace in conflict zones and improving the lives of marginalized groups through economic stability.
This recognition affirms that inclusive development can be a reality through social enterprise,” said Pantoja. “It brings hope and affirms the dreams and aspirations of our small farming partners, micro-enterprise partners, impact investors, and employees that there are respectable people in the business world who believe in and serve as cheerleaders for us, who struggle for economic justice.”
“We are proud to have Joji be recognized with the Oslo Business for Peace Award,” said Luciana Aguiar, Head of Business Call to Action. “Economic and social stability through their inclusive business initiatives has helped promote peace in the communities Coffee for Peace works in, while creating value for stakeholders and society alike.”
About Business Call to Action
Business Call to Action (BCtA) is a unique multi-stakeholder alliance hosted by UNDP and the largest global inclusive business platform supporting core business solutions for development and providing public recognition for the private sector’s contribution to sustainable development. For more than 10 years, BCtA, its donors and its member companies have been advancing inclusive business models that improve lives and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
About Coffee for Peace
Coffee for Peace is a social enterprise that works with indigenous people and rural poor in the Philippines to promote economic empowerment, peace and reconciliation, and environmental stewardship. They provide training to indigenous communities in conflict-ridden areas in Mindanao, the Cordillera region, and others. The trained farmers and communities eventually become suppliers of coffee cherries and coffee beans to Coffee for Peace. Through this initiative, communities that have long been caught up in conflict are given stable livelihood opportunities.
About Oslo Business for Peace Award
The Oslo Business for Peace Award is given out annually to exemplary business leaders who apply their business energy ethically and responsibly, creating economic and societal value. Winners are selected by an independent committee of Nobel Prize winners in Peace and in Economics after a global nomination process through the International Chamber of Commerce, United Nations Global Compact, United Nations Development Programme, and Principles for Responsible Investment and by former Honourees. The committee evaluates the nominees on the criteria of being a role model to society and their peers, having earned trust by stakeholders, and standing out as an advocate.
