Supply chains

Enhance sustainability performance within our supply chains

Finding solutions that both our customers and producers benefit from is a key intention for us at NKG. As part of our active commitment to integrity and responsibility along the green coffee supply chain, we created NKG Verified, an initiative that establishes a bridge between coffee growers and coffee buyers.

Traceability and transparency

Launched in 2021, NKG Verified aims to improve visibility along the supply chain for green coffee buyers.

At the center of the program is a set of key criteria covering the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainability and following industry standards. By the end of 2022, we aim to have NKG Verified recognized under the Global Coffee Platform’s Equivalence Mechanism based on their newly launched Coffee Sustainability Reference Code. Beyond compliance with the critical criteria, annual internal and external audits every three years serve to assess progress, identify areas for improvement and showcase the hard work happening on the ground to move the needle toward more sustainable coffee supply chains.

NKG Verified offers customers traceable coffees that are produced on farms meeting the following key sustainability criteria:

Economic

Record keeping
Production and processing practices
Inclusion and equity*
Sustainability set-up
Access to grievance mechanism
Regulatory requirements
Ethical conduct
Traceability
Pricing
Services

Environmental

Genetically modified organism (GMO)
Farm mapping
Flora and fauna
Soil conservation
Pesticide use
Integrated pest management
Water sources and use
Water pollution
Energy use*
Waste management
Hazardous waste
Climate change*

Social

No discrimination
No harassment
Freedom of association
Collective bargaining
Minimum wage
Working hours
Labor contracts
Adequate housing
Drinking water
Access to facilities
Occupational health and safety

Critical

Continuous improvement
No worst forms of child labor
No child labor
School attendance
No forced labor
Forests and ecosystems
Prohibited pesticides

* Applicability starts in 2023/24

Creating integrated supply chains

NKG Verified covers the full supply chain from farm to the export-ready container. The starting point and focus are the farms growing the coffee, yet it does not stop there: NKG Verified criteria also apply to independent operators processing the coffee, farmer groups and our own export companies. Each container gets linked back to specific supply chains and comes with a sustainability scorecard showing the performance of the supply chain against our NKG Verified criteria.

Entities in NKG Verified Supply Chain

Farmers

Farmer groups

Independant operators

NKG exporter

NKG Verified fills the gap between sustainability certifications brought upon producers from the outside and the actual needs and shortcomings locally. It provides a solid basis for us to offer coffee produced under sustainable conditions and in accordance with local laws

Osmar Moraes, Sustainability Manager, NKG Stockler

The implementation of NKG Verified

NKG Verified was first established by NKG Stockler in Brazil, followed by our companies Exportadora de Café California (Mexico) and NKG India Coffee (India). It was a smooth learning process with valuable insights for the following implementations. After this successful start, we hope to reach a significant number of producers in other countries soon and help their sustainability performances increase over time.

2021
2022
2022 Planned
2023 Planned

For more information visit: https://www.nkg.net/responsibly-sourced-coffees

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