Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

We put great emphasis on sustainable production by adhering to social and environmental standards and respecting labour rights throughout our operations.  We engage in project work on behalf of our clients, as part of our own CSR objectives and in public private partnership (PPP) arrangements.

In Coffee, we are members of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative and the Common Code for the Coffee Community (4C).  Additionally, we are approved suppliers for Rainforest Alliance, Utz Certified, Fairtrade and Organic coffees.  Our work has varied from provision of housing for poor families in Colombia to links with companies such as Lavazza and Nestle to implement social infrastructure projects and good agricultural practices. We are always happy to make available our significant resources in developing countries to achieve development goals.

In Biofuels, we have embarked on a number of initiatives and have been working closely with our feedstock suppliers to ensure traceability of sustainable vegetable oils to biodiesel producers. We are a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.  We are also active participants in the working groups of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels. Our active involvement with Better Sugar Cane Initiative BSI,[www.bettersugarcane.org.uk] is in support of development of social, environmental and sustainable standards for sugar cane and its products: sugar and ethanol.

In Sugar, our efforts with BSI should provide for specific sustainability projects linked to reduction of water and energy use.