Nuts

Our Approach

Each nut type and its value chain is unique and comes with its own social and environmental challenges. Nut origins and production systems vary significantly and range from the wild collection from pristine rainforests in the Amazon (Brazil nuts), over smallholder farming in Turkey (hazelnuts) and West Africa (cashews), to industrial plantations in California (almonds).

The ALDI SOUTH Group has identified nut supply chains as a high priority focus area with Brazil nuts, cashews and hazelnuts being of particular importance amongst the eleven nut types sold in the ALDI SOUTH Group’s countries. We are committed to fostering fair working conditions and environmentally friendly production in the cultivation and processing of nuts. We continue to increase our efforts in ensuring transparency and traceability throughout our nut supply chains. In addition, we collaborate with key stakeholders on projects on the ground and work with our business partners and multi-stakeholder initiatives to increase awareness and transparency of sustainable nut production and raise industry standards.

Our Actions

Transparency & Traceability

We want to provide our customers the highest quality at the best possible price. Transparent supply chains and traceability of raw materials are the crucial foundation to determine whether sustainability standards are adhered to in the cultivation and processing of nuts for our products. Together with our business partners and other industry actors, we are working towards increased transparency. Activities include supplier interviews, participation in relevant multi-stakeholder initiatives, projects on the ground or crop-specific human rights impact assessments.

Supply Chain

Visits and Assessments

As part of our engagement, we regularly visit and assess production sites together with our business partners in our food and non-food supply chains.

Resource Efficiency

Supply Chain

Human Rights

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

Human Rights Risk Assessment

In 2018, we comprehensively examined the human rights risks within our food and agriculture supply chains. The aim of these assessments was to identify any adverse impacts our company may have on human rights, gain insights into our actual impacts, and understand where our greatest level of influence is throughout the global supply chains of the entire ALDI SOUTH Group.

We identified nuts as a raw material with a high risk of human rights violations and consider it to be important to us in terms of leverage.

Human Rights Impact Assessment

We are developing specific measures to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts identified during our risk assessment in 2018. We are carrying out detailed human rights impact assessments (HRIAs) for three high priority raw materials, including brazil nuts, to identify, understand and assess the potential and actual adverse effects of our business activities on workers and other affected rights-holders such as community members, smallholder farmers and women. The HRIA will be based on background research and engagement with rights-holders in the field. Despite the persisting challenges due to the global pandemic, we plan to publish our results by the end of 2021.

Human Rights

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 initiatives

Logo of SNI

Since 2020

Sustainable Nut Initiative (SNI)

Since 2020, the ALDI SOUTH Group has been an active participant of the Sustainable Nut Initiative (SNI). The SNI is a coalition of key players in global nut supply chains. Their aim is to bring the nut sector to a higher level in terms of professionalism, sustainability, and quality.

ALDI seeks to strengthen relationships along the supply chain, as well as to develop scalable approaches for improving traceability and sustainable farming practice. Starting with an initial focus on cashew supply chains, we are dedicated to working together within the SNI network to share best practise models and set industry standards.

More information

Logo of UTZ Hazelnut

Since 2017

UTZ Hazelnut Programme

The ALDI SOUTH Group joined the UTZ hazelnut programme in 2017. The UTZ programme is the first independent, third party certification program in the hazelnut sector. It brings together a strong coalition of over a hundred organisations worldwide to tackle sustainability challenges in the hazelnut sector. Over 6,800 hazelnut farmers in Turkey, which is the largest producer of hazelnuts globally, and Georgia now apply the UTZ standards for sustainable farming which are connected to 80% of the largest exporters.

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Project on the ground

Project in Vietnam

Social Dialogue in cashew supply chains

ALDI seeks to respect human rights and prevent violations in our Vietnamese cashew nut supply chain by supporting the Ethical Trade Norway’s Cashew project. The project strengthens labour standards while having a focus on women and vulnerable groups as well as improves environmental management.

Together with our cashew suppliers, ALDI encouraged processors in the Vietnamese cashew supply chain to participate in social dialogue training during September and November 2019. This training was designed to improve worker and management dialogue, grievance handling and knowledge of trade union rights. The project also trained farmers on labour standards, good agricultural and environmental practices. Additional sessions and supplementary trainings for further Vietnamese supply chain actors followed in July 2020. The project will continue to support farmers, workers and processors over the course of this year with further guidance and knowledge-sharing.

More: Ethical Trade Norway