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About Us
Our Businesses
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Responsibility
Media
A tea worker walking through a tea estate in India
Our Grocery businesses aim to respect internationally recognised human and labour rights and seek to cease, prevent or mitigate adverse impacts in their supply chains and operations in line with the standards contained in the Group Supplier Code of Conduct.
Grocery Group businesses are prioritising their efforts to monitor human and labour rights risks by focusing on specific higher inherent risk areas of their value chains. These selected categories include raw materials, packaging, finished goods and services (including security, cleaning workwear, temporary labour and logistics providers). The Sedex (Supplier Ethical data Exchange) online database is used to assess and monitor these risks for in-scope tier one and key tier two supplier sites.
Grocery Group has continued to develop a central data management team to monitor supplier engagement with the Sedex platform and collate accurate data. This data is distributed monthly to procurement and responsibility teams, providing information on non-conformances identified during audits, allowing the businesses to engage with their suppliers to resolve issues effectively and in a timely manner. Data is also used to inform sourcing decisions.
Suppliers of raw materials and other key commodities are required to complete a self-assessment questionnaire and upload the results of all ethical audits conducted onto the Sedex platform. Any issues identified are escalated to the Grocery Group Corporate Responsibility Leads as well as technical and procurement contacts within the relevant businesses. The businesses then follow internal escalation and remediation processes, which result in engagement with suppliers where necessary to resolve issues raised. All identified issues are continuously monitored and evaluated for improvement. The completion rate of the self-assessment questionnaire increased in 2023/24 from 60% to 90% of all suppliers registered on the Sedex online database.
Last year, Grocery Group engaged an independent third party ethical consultant to assess its policies and management procedures against the OECD and FAO’s ‘Five Steps Guidelines for Due Diligence in Agricultural Supply Chains’ [link]. As a result of this assessment, the businesses are making improvements to strengthen responsible sourcing and environmental practices. As part of these improvements, Grocery Group is rolling out a new grievance hotline, beginning with key suppliers in India.
Twinings Ovaltine has put in place controls and processes to assess and mitigate human and labour rights risks within its supply chain. The division is committed to conducting business with integrity, respecting universal human rights and labour rights principles through its Code of Conduct and Human Rights Policy. These commitments apply to all aspects of its supply chains, including raw materials, packaging and indirect procurement, as well as its own operations.
Twinings Ovaltine continues to develop its due diligence process including audit procedures and training to support the implementation of its Code of Conduct and Human Rights Policy. These include its Factory Monitoring and Improvement Programme (FMIP), the Twinings Community Needs Assessment (TCNA), and Modern Slavery Awareness training programme.
The FMIP includes a risk assessment of tier one suppliers, which takes into account labour rights risk and the importance of the supplier to the business. Based on this assessment, high-risk suppliers (defined as those with significant potential for human rights and labour issues) are audited by an independent third party at least every three years, and some more regularly based on the audit’s findings and remediation requirements. Low and medium-risk sites undergo ad hoc semi-announced spot check audits, where suppliers are given a two-week window for an audit to be conducted. More than 100 audits of tier one suppliers are conducted each year, including those commissioned by the suppliers themselves on the instigation of Twinings Ovaltine, which are carried out by third party auditors. Where audits identify non-compliances, suppliers are required to take action to resolve the issues within a specified time frame. The programme covers selected tier one suppliers including third party partners and joint ventures producing finished products (such as co-manufacturers, co-packers, licensing partners, packing houses, packaging suppliers and raw material suppliers). It also includes site service providers (such as construction and solar panel providers), branded promotional items, warehousing and own production sites. Twinings Ovaltine is also a member of the Sedex online database and where appropriate uses the platform to inform its supply chain assessment process for tier one sites.
In March 2022 the business launched modern slavery training for tier one supplier factories operating in high-risk countries, with a focus on suppliers known to be employing migrant workers. The e-learning course is developed by Twinings and suppliers are able to complete the course once they have registered. Following issues identified in Twinings’ Kenyan tea supply chain, this year Twinings developed a Gender Based Violence and Harassment (GBVH) Policy, to help tea gardens effectively prevent and address GBVH, reduce its risks, and ultimately protect women workers.
Twinings requires the tea gardens it sources from to sign up to this policy, in addition to Twinings’ Code of Conduct. Once they have signed, the supplier must submit a self-assessment report of their compliance against the policy and the output from this assessment is verified by a third party or by the Twinings Social Impact team. Where there are non-compliances with the policy, tea producers are given guidance on how to address these, including through a newly developed toolkit of best practices and tailored training. Tea gardens are also expected to formalise their approach on GBVH prevention and ensure continued effort to eliminate it. All gardens in Kenya are in the process of aligning to this policy, which will then be rolled out in other key sourcing countries, starting with Sri Lanka and India.
In recent years, George Weston Foods has taken significant steps to improve the visibility and ethical performance of its supply chains by registering its own businesses and suppliers on the Sedex online database.
George Weston Foods will be utilising the central data management team established by Grocery Group to oversee supplier engagement with the Sedex platform. Also for George Weston Foods, this team supports the businesseses to identify any non-conformance issues within its supply chain. Going forward, George Weston Foods will require all suppliers of raw materials and other key commodities to complete a self-assessment questionnaire and upload it onto the Sedex platform. This process is designed to help George Weston Foods identify potential human rights risks in its supply chains.
ACH’s direct and indirect supply chain is predominantly in the US and Canada. ACH has controls and processes in place to assess and address human rights-related risks, such as the risk of child and forced labour.
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A worker on a farm in Turkey, where several of our Grocery businesses have been engaging to improve social and environmental practices
Grocery Group businesses Jordans Dorset Ryvita, AB World Foods, Allied Bakeries and Speedibake are actively engaged in trying to improve the working conditions of migrant workers in Turkey’s agricultural sector. In partnership with the Fair Labor Association (FLA), they are assessing the needs of workers, farmers, and labour intermediaries in the vine fruit and hazelnut sectors.
To drive change, these businesses have implemented a framework to evaluate supplier performance against key indicators such as child labour and wages. This approach, combined with increased on-site engagement, has led to tangible improvements.
In July 2024, a delegation from the Grocery Group visited Turkey to gain a better understanding of vine fruit production and strengthen industry collaboration. During this visit, they met with key stakeholders, including government officials and industry representatives. As a result of the visit there are ongoing discussions on standardising farmer documentation, developing a roadmap for improvement, sharing best practices and engaging with labour contractors and government entities.
This approach, combined with increased on-site engagement, has led to the development and implementation of child labour remediation procedures by some suppliers and improvements in worker-related record keeping by some farmers.
Turmeric farmers in India
Westmill has partnered with AB Mauri, another ABF company, to launch a series of social and environmental initiatives for turmeric farmers in Basargi, Maharashtra, India. The project, which began in May 2024, aims to improve the livelihoods of 40 registered farmers and benefit the entire village community through various activities.
Key objectives include increasing farmer yields by 10%, boosting the annual income of women in farming communities by 40,000 rupees, and improving access to medical care and health and safety resources for farmers. To kickstart the project, farmers were provided with high-quality seeds for 30% of their crops, aiming to improve yields, alongside training in agricultural practices. Additionally, the project plans to distribute menstrual products to the women in the community.
Looking ahead, the project plans to host bi-annual medical camps for the entire village, supply personal protective equipment (PPE) to farmers, and construct a public toilet facility. These initiatives aim to foster long-term social and economic growth while improving the overall wellbeing of the Basargi community.
A tea picker in India
Twinings is dedicated to understanding and where possible addressing the needs of the communities from which it sources its tea and herbs. To help achieve this, in 2016 the business developed the Twinings Community Needs Assessment (TCNA).
The TCNA focuses on hearing directly from workers, farmers and community members through focus group discussions, interviews, surveys and observations. This approach allows Twinings to gain a first-hand understanding of the challenges and aspirations of these communities and identify any areas for improvement.
The TCNA covers 10 areas related to human rights and worker welfare, including labour rights, housing, water sanitation, health, gender equality, livelihoods, farming practices, land rights and natural resources. This holistic approach allows Twinings to identify specific issues and develop targeted interventions that help to address the needs of each community.
Communication training for Ovaltine suppliers in Thailand delivered by Issara
In Thailand, Ovaltine has partnered with the Issara Institute to implement an Inclusive Labour Monitoring (ILM) programme in three supplier factories that employ a significant number of more vulnerable migrant workers. The programme aims to empower workers by giving them a platform to voice their concerns through a multilingual hotline, a smartphone app and direct worker interviews carried out by Issara. This initiative not only facilitates the reporting of grievances related to recruitment and workplace conditions but also ensures that these issues are addressed and remediated by suppliers.
Through this collaboration, Ovaltine is supporting its suppliers in Thailand on a journey to enhance responsible recruitment practices and help improve the overall working conditions for all workers involved in the programme.
