HACOFCO is the first trading Company to join Fairtrade in 1992 and is a pioneer in sustainability. Over the years our imports of certified coffees have reached a significant share of our volume, and we keep commitment to source more sustainable coffee over the years. HACOFCO is proud to be an important partner in this segment.
At HACOFCO we recognized that protecting and preserving the natural environment, as well as ensuring respect for the rights of the people is our responsibility and fundamental to be successful over the long-term to create more value for our key stakeholders. For this reason, HACOFCO is committed to implement its Connect sustainability strategy around the following key areas:
People at the center of our business strategy:
Create better conditions to improve the well-being of everybody in the supply chain.
Our employees:
Valuing employees within the company, ensuring equal opportunities, a healthy work environment and embracing diversity.
Our communities:
Implementing actions that promote better conditions.
Our customers and suppliers:
Creating synergies to ensure sustainable coffee production.
Protecting and preserving the natural environment:
Implement actions to ensure a positive impact of our operations in the environment.
Supply Chains:
Supporting suppliers to implement actions to protect the natural environment.
Creating opportunities for inclusive growth:
Promote transparent and ethical negotiations along the supply chain.
Transparency:
Sharing with key stakeholders the progress and impact of the sustainability initiatives implemented.
Supporting farmers:
Creating conditions to improve farmers economic resilience.
Certifications
- 1992 we became the first coffee trading house to join the organization TransFair Germany - today Fairtrade Germany.
- Import of certified coffees (Fairtrade, organic, Rainforest Alliance and 4C seal)
Our certifications:
HACOFCO is part of the Fairtrade
"Kaffeerösthandwerk Partnerschaft"
In order to meet the ever-growing customer demand for high-quality and fairly traded coffee, Fairtrade Germany has launched the "Kaffeerösthandwerk-Partnerschaft" especially for small roasters. Here, if you buy up to five tons of Fairtrade coffee per year from authorized coffee traders such as HACOFCO, you may opt to receive promotional materials from Fairtrade that can be used in your café or store, informing them about your commitment.
And this is how it works:
- You register with Fairtrade Germany as a Coffee roaster: roester.fairtrade-deutschland.de
- You pay an application fee of € 99. gross including the legal sales tax of currently 7%.
- You will receive access to corresponding materials and will be displayed on a map of the Fairtrade certified coffee roasters.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us: specialty@hacofco.de
You can also find more information here.
Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG)
The new Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) will be enforced in Germany starting January 1, 2023. The aim of the law is to improve the protection of fundamental human rights in global supply chains. This includes, for example, the prohibition of child labor or freedom from discrimination. The law also takes into account risks to the environment, in relation to human rights violations (e.g. through poisoned water) or endangering human health e.g. when it comes to banning hazardous substances such as mercury.
The LkSG requires covered companies to fulfill their due diligence obligations by following these five steps:
- Committing to human rights in a policy statement
- Conducting a risk analysis of the supply chain
- Provide for preventive and remedial measures
- Establish grievance mechanism
- Report on human rights due diligence
Effective January 1, 2023, companies with 3,000 or more employees will need to meet these requirements. Effective January 1, 2024, companies with 1,000 or more employees will also face these requirements. If companies outside the scope of the LkSG are direct suppliers of companies covered by the Act, then they can be required to implement due diligence requirements through their contractual relationship. It is important to note here that the law establishes a duty of effort on the part of the companies, but not a duty to succeed.
Although we as Hacofco are not directly affected by the law, we want to take responsibility and work to ensure human rights are respected in our supply chains. We are working on our own risk analysis and have joined forces with other companies in the coffee industry under the umbrella of the German Coffee Association, to launch a joint complaints procedure in the form of an online platform called (https://www.ear4u.org/de) . As an open ear for the coffee industry, we thus give all actors in the supply chain the opportunity to contact us directly.
We are aware that this law poses a great challenge to all of us, and we will be happy to support should you have any questions on the subject. You can also find some useful links here:
Business and Human Rights Helpdesk https://wirtschaft-entwicklung.de/wirtschaft-menschenrechte/
EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)
On April 19, 2024, the European Union adopted its Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) with the aim of reducing global deforestation. Clear standards require market participants to exercise due diligence and transparency along the supply chain in green coffee cultivation. For us, the implementation of this regulation is another building block in our sustainability strategy.
