Sustainability
Sustainability and CSR are on top of our agenda and become more and more an integral part of everything we do. Promoting organic certified ingredients, people management, ethical behaviour and environmental impact are key elements that steer our behaviour and the choices we make. We strive to take social responsibility throughout our ethical business practices and to respect the environment and the people we work with.
Berrico’s CSR program is based on four pillars:
1. Environment
As a company, Berrico actively contributes to a hearty lifestyle and a better future through pure and natural ingredients. By building and maintaining fruitful relationships with our suppliers we can guarantee transparency ‘from field to fork’. We strive to take responsibility throughout our business practices and to respect the environment.
How does Berrico reduce its ecological footprint?
- A substantial part of our business volume entails organic certified ingredients.
- Hand-picking producers who practice sustainable farming. We have an extensive checklist before a producer is approved. CSR practices and environmental impact are high on the agenda.
- Supporting our producers to improve their sustainability and to reduce their environmental impact and their CO2 footprint.
Our CSR practices also extend to our office where we all play a part in mitigating Berrico’s environmental impact. Our HQ is located in the Netherlands where 20+ employees help Berrico run smoothly on a daily basis.
How do we reduce our ecological footprint at our office?
- Berrico’s HQ has an energy and water conservation program to reduce consumption.
- We minimize paper use and our administration records have gone 100% digital.
- We recycle all glass, paper and plastic at the office.
- Our office runs partly on solar power thanks to our solar panel-lined roof and the solar panels placed on the wall facing south.
2. Sustainable procurement
We audit our producers on sustainability and CSR principles. Where desired we will together with our producers draw up sustainability goals. Our standards are higher than the legal European regulations. We focus on building and maintaining fruitful relationships with both suppliers and clients; guaranteeing transparency from farm to fork. We personally visit and audit our producers and maintain a dialogue with them to safeguard the sustainability of our products. Our goal is to help create higher sustainable practices in the supply chain.
How does Berrico follow sustainable procurement?
- We buy from farmers/producers directly to ensure full traceability and audit possibilities.
- We investigate the entire supply chain with the CSR principles and guide our partners with their yearly goal setting and performance.
- We conduct our own supplier approval which is performed with proper risk assessment through documentation and auditing in the country of origin.
- We’re in direct communication with the producer for a better understanding of the demand, the regulations compliance and focus more on sustainable operations.
- Since the start we have had a strong focus on organic products.
All our suppliers have been carefully selected to ensure quality guarantee and ethical business practises.
3. Labour and human rights
Our motto in the office is: “We are not a team because we work together. We are a team because we respect, trust and care for each other”. Berrico provides continuous education and development to promote employee wellbeing. We strive to create a safe and happy work environment where our employees come to work with a smile on their faces.
How does Berrico safeguard labour and human rights?
- Awareness training to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
- Providing continuous career and skill development training.
- Implementing the appointment of a confidential counselor at the office, as well as periodic employee health and safety training.
4. Ethics
Berrico considers itself to be a reliable partner that exclusively practices fair business ethics to serve its customers. We focus on ethical trade by building and maintaining long-term fruitful relationships with suppliers, clients and employees. Berrico sets out to offer its customers the opportunity to flourish in the global market and has established itself as a flexible, creative and ethical partner.
How does Berrico execute this?
- Choosing partners whose ethical, cultural and environmental principles align with ours.
- Code of Conduct set in place which is distributed to all employees upon onboarding.
- Awareness training for employees to prevent corruption and bribery.