Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1492816
STiR coffee and tea 25 Traceable, transparent With the goal of ensuring visibility from farm level to export-ready container, the company in 2021 launched its own global supply chain program called NKG Veri- fied, which spells out criteria across four top categories: economic, environmental, social, and critical. The program is aligned with the Global Coffee Platform's Coffee Sustain- ability Reference Code, a new system for comparing and harmonizing the indus- try's myriad sustainability codes and cer- tifications. "NKG Verified fills the gap between sustainability certifications brought upon producers from the outside and the actu- al needs and shortcomings locally," said Osmar Moraes, sustainability manager at NKG Stockler, NKG's export company based in Brazil. "It provides a solid ba- sis for us to offer coffee produced under sustainable conditions and in accordance with local laws." Within the program's four main categories, "critical" means mandatory criteria for legal, regulatory, and man- agement compliance in areas like pro- hibited pesticides, child labor, forests, ecosystems, and school attendance. Re- garding environmental performance, the program rates farms on such criteria as soil conservation, pesticide use, water, waste management, energy use, and cli- mate change. Economic criteria include pricing, production, sourcing processes, and inclusiveness. On social factors, the program examines collective bargaining, minimum wages, working hours, occupa- tional health and safety, and so on. Beyond farms, the program covers other links in the supply chain including farm cooperatives, independent proces- sers, and the company's own export busi- nesses. NKG Verified has already been implemented and approved for supply chains in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, In- donesia, Vietnam, and India. The pro- gram will be expanded to Kenya, Uganda, Honduras, and other places where the company operates. A related system called SCIP, Sup- ply Chain Integrity Program, meets the company's due diligence requirements by working with business partners and sup- pliers to assess operations like shipping, warehousing, and others.