Putting Animal Welfare On The Menu For Coffee Chain Suppliers
Chronos is a leading player in animal welfare management, having co-designed and led the Business Benchmark on Animal Welfare (BBFAW) for over a decade and worked with many leading companies and investors on the issue. In 2023 we began working with a major global coffee chain to help develop and implement its global sourcing policy on animal welfare.
This project included working with the multinational’s team to agree minimum requirements for suppliers in pig, poultry and livestock production, and to ensure alignment with the animal health and welfare principles of its parent group.
As part of this, our team developed an inventory of basic and higher welfare farm assurance schemes across all relevant species and markets worldwide. We also worked with the coffee chain to design a comprehensive survey of the company’s global supply base covering direct and indirect suppliers, franchise partners and business operators. The survey, now in its second year, evaluates supplier adherence to the company’s minimum sustainable sourcing requirements and gathers data on suppliers’ policy commitments and performance on carbon management, human rights, animal welfare and the avoidance of deforestation.
The results of the survey informed a dialogue with the company’s technical and procurement teams, which led to the development of a global animal welfare sourcing policy. The policy commits the coffee chain and its franchisees and business operators to conduct appropriate due diligence of animal welfare and ensures continuous improvement plans exist. An accompanying road map sets out deadlines for ensuring that all animal protein (including dairy, eggs, pork, chicken, duck, turkey, beef and farmed fish) sourced directly by the company is from third party certified farm assurance schemes across its global markets. The policy and road map also provide guidance to the coffee chain’s indirect suppliers, franchise partners, third party manufacturers and business operators.
