JDE response to the report “Bitter Brew”
...At JDE Peet’s we take human rights and compliance very seriously. We condemn all forms of exploitation. Even though we neither own nor control any coffee farms, nor buy directly from any of them, we recognize and embrace the responsibility that we, and indeed the coffee industry as a whole, bears to ensure responsibly sourced coffee...
Through our Common Grounds programme we’re working towards ensuring that 100% of our sourced volumes are covered by our responsible sourcing programme in 2025. Our approach is farmer inclusive, engaging with farmers to understand the challenges they face and actively addressing them to drive progress...One of these projects, in cooperation with the Global Coffee Platform, is specifically targeted at improving the living and working conditions of coffee farmers and workers in Brazil’s Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo regions.
In addition to our Common Grounds programme JDE Peet’s complies with labour regulations in all markets, and we are committed to strictly enforce our Supplier Code of Conduct, which is an extension of the company’s own Code of Conduct, forming the basis of our commitment to responsibly and sustainably source products. In 2023 we also launched our new Human Rights Due Diligence programme...
We therefore also accepted the ‘good offices procedure’ in 2022, subject to approval of the work plan by the parties, as can be verified here on the website of the Brazilian Ministry of Economic Affairs. The claim in the report that we did not is therefore false. We have been in contact with the PCN and have shared with them, as well as the Claimants, that we not only continue to endeavour defending human rights but that we also endeavour to operate in compliance with both Brazilian – and all relevant international recognized standards on human rights...