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. Kraft Foods applies these principles across its portfolio of brands including Kenco.

UK Manufacturing Initiatives

A primary focus for the company has been on issues related to product manufacturing, such as reduction of air emissions, waste water effluent and solid wastes. At Kraft Foods’ Banbury coffee production site, where the bulk of Kenco coffee is manufactured, 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 solids from the waste water stream used in the production process before it returns to the local municipal treatment works. The site is also ISO 14001 certified.

Sustainability in Product Sourcing

The company focuses on producing quality coffees and hopes to do so 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 over 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 independent non-profit environment organisation, and has helped advance the availability of coffee from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms into the mainstream. Kraft Foods’ focus on sustainable sourcing has helped to drive growth in the number of Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms. The programme assures consumers that the products they are buying come from farms that meet demanding standards for environmental, economic and social improvements. 

Now all of the beans for the entire Kenco freeze-dried coffee range and for the roast and ground range of Kenco Westminster Medium Roast, Kenco Sustainable Development Medium Dark Roast and Kenco Italia Dark Roast are sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms.

Ethically Sourced Hot Chocolate

The Kenco Coffee Company was the first UK company to source cocoa for its hot chocolate products from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ 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 from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms.

Other initiatives

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 Recycling Group whose aim is to find a practical solution to the disposal of paper cups in the UK. The company is also a sponsor of Save-A-Cup Recycling.

Overall, Kraft Foods is continually working to improve its performance in this important area. For further information on the Kenco brand go to www.kencocoffeecompany.co.uk. For details and further examples of our approach to sustainability go to www.kraftfoodsbetterworld.com, where you can also check our progress against targets we have set for our organisation.

For further information on the Rainforest Alliance visit www.rainforest-alliance.org

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