Coffee giant JDE Peet’s has been included in the 2023 Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index, which recognises some of the most sustainable companies in Europe.
JDE Peet’s is one of only four European food and beverage firms to make the list, and is the only coffee company to feature, it said in a statement.
The index recognised JDE Peet’s as being ‘well above’ the industry average in terms of sustainability and responsible management of ESG risks, opportunities and impacts. The company also performed well in terms of the following metrics: Emissions, Resource Efficiency & Circularity, Waste Management, Human Capital Development, Talent Attraction & Retention and Cybersecurity & System Availability.
‘Investments, execution and innovation’
“Three years ago, we engaged in a turnaround, which led us to rediscover the power of our brands,” commented Fabien Simon, CEO of JDE Peet’s. “While we stepped up investments, execution and innovation, we brought back relevance for our consumers and our customers. Sustainability is playing an important role to enable relevance, as we became committed to foster an inclusive ecosystem. I am very proud of the progress we have made on our sustainability journey, in parallel with transforming the operational performance of JDE Peet’s.
Simon added, however, that there is still “much more to do” for the firm to achieve its goal of 100% responsibly sourced coffee by 2025 and its net-zero carbon emission target by 2050.
Common Grounds programme
The coffee and tea firm has for some years now been seeking to champion an inclusive and regenerative ecosystem through its Common Grounds programme, which is comprised of three pillars: Responsible Sourcing, Minimising Footprint and Connecting People.
“Sustainability is a journey, where every step counts,” added Laurent Sagarra, VP of sustainability at JDE Peet’s. “Over the past years we’ve stepped up from being directly involved at origin in over 60 farmer projects to actively playing our part in reducing scope 1,2 and 3 emissions. While we recognise that there’s still a long road ahead, I’m very proud of the positive impact we are already having around the world to improve the lives of nearly 600,000 smallholder farmers.”
