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Person in coffee bush

Coffee

Our Approach

Coffee is among the world’s most-traded raw materials and is primarily cultivated by smallholder farmers in sub-tropical regions. There are human rights and environmental challenges when sourcing coffee and the ALDI SOUTH Group is committed to changing this by fostering fair working conditions and environmentally friendly production in the cultivation of coffee.

One of the ways we do this is by sourcing independently certified products to ensure that producers receive a fair price for their products as well as adapt to climate change and fighting deforestation. We also carry out origin visits to key sourcing countries, participate in projects on the ground and are working to improve supply chain transparency via direct sourcing models.

Our Actions

Transparency

We attach great importance to sustainable production conditions in the manufacturing of food and non-food products. Supply chain transparency is the foundation for all our sustainability measures. Without the knowledge where our products come from, we cannot ensure compliance with our requirements, analyse risks, monitor or implement projects. We work with our business partners to increase the transparency of our supply chains so that we have a better understanding of the  origins of the products we sell and the raw materials we use in our products.

In 2021, we published the names and addresses of our direct business partners (tier 1 suppliers) for coffee.

Certification and Standards

Smallholder farmers in coffee-growing regions face multiple challenges, including poverty, commodity price fluctuations and the effects of climate change.  By sourcing from suppliers using the sustainability standards Fairtrade, Fairtrade USA, and UTZ/Rainforest Alliance, we can reassure our customers that we are supporting coffee growing communities and protecting biodiversity. 

Due to supply chain disruptions, we are currently unable to source enough certified coffee for selected private label coffee products with the Rainforest Alliance seal. This means that from January 2023 these products contain only 70-90% Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee ingredients. As soon as this supply shortage is resolved, we expect to return to the minimum 90% certified content when sourcing Rainforest Alliance certified products. You can find more information here.

Supply Chain

Human Rights

We respect human rights and do our part to improve living and working conditions throughout our supply chains.

Stakeholder Dialogue & Capacity Building

We believe the best way to protect the people and the environment is through joint initiatives and partnerships. For this reason, we engage in various multi-stakeholder initiatives and projects on the ground.

Multi-stakeholder initiative

Logo of Sustainable Coffee Challenge
Since 2020
Sustainable Coffee Challenge (SCC)

In 2020, the ALDI SOUTH Group became a member of the Sustainable Coffee Challenge (SCC). In the SCC, we collaborate with other retailers, traders, governments, NGOs, and research institutions on improving living and working conditions in the global coffee sector.

More on 'Sustainable Coffee Challenge'

Project on the ground: Fairtrade Coffee Project

Honduras Coffee

The ALDI SOUTH Group has been sourcing Fairtrade-certified coffee from Honduras since 2014. Coffee is the most important agricultural export product from Honduras with over 100,000 families growing coffee and over one million people employed by the sector during harvest. Coffee farmers in Honduras face strong challenges resulting from a volatile political situation, high poverty rates, and fluctuation in price on the world market, and the growing effects of climate change.

      Since 2016, ALDI SOUTH has funded a project initiated by Fairtrade to support coffee cooperatives in Honduras. The project aims to

      1. improve the administrative and organisational capacities of smallholder producers,
      2. increase the amount of sustainable coffee production by smallholders and their resilience to climate change,
      3. increase coffee quality, sales and marketing capacities of cooperatives, and
      4. integrate vulnerable groups (women, youth, children, workers, indigenous people) more strongly into development and decision-making processes, the implementation of policies and advocacy initiatives at community level.  

      The Fairtrade premium which is paid to cooperatives for each Fairtrade certified product as well as ALDI’s additional project funds, enable solutions to be found for the above-mentioned challenges, and ensure the long-term sustainability of smallholder coffee production in Honduras. Through these efforts, farmers will become more resilient and prosperous so that a daily cup of coffee purchased from ALDI remains sustainable for all. 

      Project collaboration
      The project is a collaboration between the ALDI SOUTH Group, Fairtrade, CLAC (Fairtrade Latin American and Caribbean Network of Small Producers and Workers) and CHPP (Honduran National Fairtrade Network).

      Our CR Performance (2021)

      Our Goal: The percentage of sustainable coffee is to be steadily increased.

      75%

      of certified coffee products

      Sustainable Development Goals

      1 No poverty 2 Zero hunger 8 Decent work and economic growth 10 Reduced inequalities 12 Responsible consumption and production 17 Partnerships for the goals

      UNGC

      Human Rights

      Principle 1

      Support and respect the protection of human rights

      Principle 2

      Not complicit in human rights abuses

      Labour

      Principle 3

      Uphold freedom of association and recognition of right to collective bargaining

      Principle 4

      Elimination of forced and compulsory labour

      Principle 5

      Abolition of child labour

      Principle 6

      Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation

      GRI references

      GRI 103: Management approach 2016

      Global Reporting Initiative 103-1 Global Reporting Initiative 103-2 Global Reporting Initiative 103-3