Improving conditions together – ensuring economic success
In weekly-changing theme worlds, we offer our customers consumer goods that are distinguished by their quality and variety. We take care to ensurethat social and environmental standards are complied with in the sourcing of raw materials and in production,and include sustainability aspects in our product design. We are working to further increase transparency in our value chains so as to bring about improvements at upstream supply chain levels as well. Global challenges in the supply chain that we cannot solve on our own are tackled through cooperation projects, ideally in industry-wide initiatives.
Since 2006, sustainability has been an integral part of Tchibo's corporate strategy.On our way to becoming a 100 % sustainable business,we continually expand ourassortment ofsustainableconsumer goods, implement social and environmental standards in the supply chain, and work with other stakeholders to find answers to questions arising from the challenges of globalisation. We take our responsibility as a value-orientedfamily-owned businessseriously, and are convinced that business success must not be at the expense of people and the environment.
The opportunities and challenges of global supply chains
The liberalisation of the flow of goods and finances has resulted in a global division of labour in which countries focus on their specific competitive advantages. Tchibo sources a large proportion of its textiles and other consumer goods from Asia and Eastern Europe, where they can be produced at cheaper prices than in Western and Southern Europe. At the same time, Tchibo – like other companies – is confronted with risk factors. These include disregard for labour and social rights and environmental standards. We are convinced that the international division of labour can open up opportunities for everyone if it is not at the expense of people and the environment. That is why we work for a sustainable design of our consumer goods value chains.
The cultivation and processing of raw materials such as cotton and wood have repercussions for people and the environment. For example, cotton farming requires large amounts of water. In conventional farming, chemical pesticides and fertilisers are used in the fields. Worldwide, wood is not always harvested in compliance with environmental and nature conservation standards. The further processing of these raw materials often takes place without sufficient attention to environmental and social standards. Tchibo is aware of this problem. As a responsible company that integrated sustainability into our company strategy more than ten years ago, we are continuously reducing the negative impact of our business activities on people, the environment and society. On the one hand, by implementing social and environmental standards in the supply chain. These include occupational health and safety measures as well as resource conservation and chemicals management. On the other, by expanding our sustainable product ranges and promoting sustainable consumption. For example, by building demand for sustainably grown cotton, we are also promoting sustainable agriculture. By making sustainable consumption possible for our customers, we are also making a contribution to increasing sustainable growth. This requires creating transparency in the global supply chains, and a network of partners whom we can work with to find solutions to challenges in the supply chain. We are convinced that this is part of the remit of a company that acts responsibly. Economic development is only sustainable if the natural basis of existence is protected, and if all the people involved also benefit from it.
Focuses of our measures onour way toa 100 % sustainable business
We continually develop the focuses of our sustainability management work. As long ago as 2012, we evaluated and mapped consumer goods for our value chain as part of a materiality surveyconducted with our stakeholders. We defined ‘environmental and social standards in the supply chain’, ‘resource-savingproduct design’ and ‘supplier qualification’ as our focus topics.
These priorities guide us in developing concrete goals and actionson the way towards becoming a 100% sustainable business. In 2016, too, we conducted extensive and targeted stakeholder dialogues and stakeholder surveys that feed into the development of our focus topics. In the field of social standards, for instance, we are redoubling our focus on transparency in the supply chains and on human rights, especially in light of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGs) and their Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs), which we also regard as global frameworks for our own sustainability agenda.
As one of Germany's largest international consumer goods and retail companies, Tchibo takes responsibility for its value chains.On the way towards becoming a sustainable business, we work step by step to design all products and processes in an environmentally and socially acceptable way.We concentrateour actionson those areas where we have the greatest impact on people and theenvironment, and where we canhave the most influence:
Put responsible business practices into effect with stakeholders
Obtain raw materials and ingredients exclusively from sustainable sources, step by step
Permanently improveworking and environmental conditionsat the production sites
Tackle structural challenges through cross-industrycoalitions and alliances
Guidelines and Principles for our Responsible Business Practices
In striving to continually improve our sustainability management, we are guided by international guidelines, in particular the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a global political framework, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights for socially responsible conduct in the supply chains,the conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and the principles of sustainable development based on the Rio Declarationof 1992. EU regulations (e.g. the REACH regulations for chemical management) as well as German legislation (for example, the Waste and Packaging Act and Food and Consumer Goods Act) provide the legal framework for the sustainable design of our products and processes.
Based on this, we have formulated the following clear and binding principlesthat guide us in designing sustainable value chains for consumer goods:
Dialogue and participation:When working with our suppliers, we involve both the management (top-down) as well as their employees (bottom-up). This turns everyone involved into “owners” of the processes and improves the prospects of finding solutions that are acceptable for all parties.
Setting targets:We set ambitious but realistic goals, regularly monitor results, and work on continual improvements.
Social an environmental standards as minimum requirement:We encourage and empower our operational departments, such as purchasing, quality management and marketing, to take responsibility for changes and put measures into practice.
Openness and willingness to learn:We don’t seek to instruct, but listen to stakeholders, openly address problems, are self-critical, and learn from our mistakes.
Social and environmental standards as minimum requirement
Since 2006, sustainability has been integratedin our company’s strategy and is a core component of all business processes.The TchiboSocial and Environmental Code of Conduct (SCoC), which we developed in cooperation withourstakeholders, is the foundation for this.It defines minimum requirements for working conditions and environmental standards in the production of our consumer goods, and is the basis of allpurchasing contracts. Developed in 2006 as the Tchibo Social Code of Conduct, in 2011 we expanded the Code to include environmental requirements. By signing the SCoC, our producers commit to social and environmental standards at their production sites. This includes occupational safety, the prohibition of child labour and discrimination, the recognition of trade union rights, and measures to avoid negative environmental impacts.
In 2017, we revised the SCoC again. It now includes further environmental requirements as well as additions that became necessary due to our commitments under the Global Framework Agreement with the IndustriALL Global Union, the Alliance for Sustainable Textiles, and the SDGs.
Platform for joint solutions: Vendor Days and Change Labs
In 2012, we introduced Vendor Days as a platform for knowledge sharing with our suppliers. In 2015, we further developed it into Change Labs. This format is aimed mainly at jointly addressing current industry topics. For instance, in2016Tchibo employees got together withcoresuppliers to discuss process efficiency, product creativity, the requirements of theDetox Commitments, as well as supply chain transparency and living wages. This discourse provides input andinnovative approachesforjointlyachieving improvements in the supply chains.
Engagement in industry-wide initiatives
We can only tackle structural challenges in the value chains in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders.That is why we work closely withotherretailers, producers, governments, trade unions and non-governmental organisations, science and trade unions,and are involved in cross-industry alliances, to implement global solutions step by step.
In September 2016, Tchibobecame the firstGermantradingcompany to sign aframework agreementwiththeIndustriALL Global Union. The idea is tomake it possible for employees and trade unions at the production sites tonegotiate – wages and social benefits in particular –with factory owners and management.As a member of theACT (Action, Collaboration, Transformation) initiativewe also work in partnership withIndustriALLand other international trading companieson living wages andindustry-wide wage bargaining between social partners on an equal footing in the clothingindustry.
As long ago as 2012, Tchibo became the second company in the world to sign the 'Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh' andcontributed to its entry into force, improvement and continuous implementation. In 2017, we signed a follow-up accord for another three years. It will continue the accord until such time as the public authorities in Bangladesh can take over its work.
In 2015, we joined the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles, initiated byGermany’sFederal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The focus of the alliance of politics, business, standards organisations, NGOs, trade unions, science and academe and other stakeholders is committed to implementing environmental and social standards at all stages of the global textile supply chain. As part of our membership, we are on the one hand implementing our own published ‘roadmap’, and on the other hand have provided support in two ways since 2016: an alliance initiative to systemically improve the working conditions of girls and young women in spinning and textile mills in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and a cooperation to develop chemical and environmental management that builds on our strategic alliance withtheGerman Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Rewe Group.
In Myanmar, we also work together with the GIZ on the ‘Working and Social Standards in the Textile and Clothing Sector in Asia’ project, to ensure compliance with human rights and labour standards by our core suppliers there.
In 2016, we became a member of the multi-stakeholder initiative 'Organic Cotton Accelerator', which was launched in 2014. In it, we work with protagonists from the international cotton industry to strengthen the production of organic cotton and establishing a sustainable organic cotton market.