Craft Foods, parent company of The Kenco Coffee Company, is continually working to reduce the environmental impact of its activities, preventing pollution and promoting the sustainability of the natural resources upon which it depends, while providing high quality products that meet the needs of its consumers.

Kraft Foods' approach to sustainability focuses on the areas which have the biggest impact  on its business: energy reduction and efficient resource use, ethical sourcing of commodities and packaging reduction and recyclability.

UK Manufacturing Initiatives

A primary focus for the company has been on issues related to product manufacturing, such as reduction of air emissions, water effluence and solid wastes. At Kraft Foods' Banbury coffee production site, where soluble coffee is manufactured for vending, 85% of the plant's electrical energy requirement is generated on site by Combined Heat and Power units (CHPs), while the company has invested heavily in technology to remove coffee grounds from the waste water stream used in the production process before it returns to the local municipal treatment works. Also, waste solids from the coffee manufacturing process are consumed in an on-site waste-to-energy plant, with any surplus used by local farmers for fertilisers. The site is also ISO 14001 certified (an externally audited and accredited Environmental Management System).

Sustainability in Product Sourcing

The company is committed to producing quality coffees long into the future. Agriculture can have a significant environmental, economic and social impact and for this reason Kraft Foods works closely with its agricultural supply base. The company's initial focus has been in the areas of coffee and cocoa.

Sustainably Farmed Coffee

Kraft Foods has been working in the area of coffee sustainability for 15 years, having a series of country based projects as well as being a contributor to the Common Code of the Coffee Community project, a global initiative which seeks to define sustainability in the coffee sector. Since 2003, Kraft Foods has been working with the Rainforest Alliance, a leading international non-profit environment organisation, and has helped advance the availability of coffee from Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM farms into the mainstream. Kraft Foods' commitment to sustainable sourcing has helped to drive growth in the number of Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM farms ensuring that they meet comprehensive standards that protect the environment and improve the quality of life for farmers and farm workers. Coffee farmers learn to improve coffee quality while reducing costs, becoming more efficient and building self sufficiency.

Now 75% of beans for the entire Kenco freeze-dried coffee range are sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM farms and the company's intention is to move its entire coffee portfolio to be sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM farms by 2010.

Sustainably Sourced Tea

In addition The Kenco Coffee Company's Away From Home portfolio now includes PG tips*** tea, fifty percent of which comes from Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM farms. Unilever, the makers of PG tips, is committed to buying one hundred percent of PG tips tea from Rainforest Alliance Certified ^TM farms by 2010.

Ethically Sourced Hot Chocolate**

The Kenco Coffee Company is the first UK manufacturer of hot chocolate products to source its cocoa from Rainforest Alliance Certified ^TM farms. The company has worked with the Rainforest Alliance to open up new supplies from certified sources in West Africa since 2006. The entire Suchard Away From Home portfolio contains cocoa sourced entirely from Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM farms.

Other initiatives

The Kenco Coffee Company's team of sales consultants is organised to reduce travelling time while Kenco's service partners use a service management system that means the closest technicians can be sent to a fault call in order to minimise fuel consumption and emissions. By using indirect distribution and routes to market we are also helping to minimise the environmental impact of transportation.

Finally, The Kenco Coffee Company is proactive in the area of paper cup recycling, being a founder member of The Paper Cup Recovery and Recycle Group whose aim is to find a practical solution to the disposal of  paper cups in the UK. Save-A-Cup can now offer clients a paper cup recycling service available in most areas.  For further information contact Save-a-Cup on 01484 610187.

Overall, Kraft Foods is continually working to improve its performance in this important area.

**  From May 2008 the cocoa in Suchard Hot Chocolate is sourced entirely from Rainforest Alliance Certified ^TM farms

*** PG tips is a registered trade mark of the Unilever Group

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