CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMS
In CCHBC we recognize the value of enabling our own people and suppliers’ teams to develop and strengthen skills and abilities and support them to effectively navigate across the ESG spectrum.
Capability Building programs help the teams achieve their objectives, manage challenges, establish good governance, and contribute to organizational growth more effectively. The objective is to ensure that both buyers and suppliers are able to integrate sustainability into the procurement practices and understand the ESG impacts in the supply chain. It also fosters a sense of ownership and empowerment, so that our buyer community and our vendor partners gain greater control over their own future performance.
To this respect we have invested in the development of capacity building programs for our Buyers and Suppliers in the form of Trainings starting from entry level and gradually building to more in-depth understanding of the ESG matters they intend to tackle, and finally further enhanced through collaboration with specialist organizations that are able to deliver in depth technical knowledge as applicable.
Emissions Educational Programs
As part of the journey on driving down Scope 3 emissions and accelerating the learning curve of our suppliers in GHG management, as a System together with TCCC and other bottlers we decided to join Supplier Leadership on Climate Transition collaborative (SLOCT), an initiative dedicated to mentor and train suppliers in emissions reduction strategies.
Supplier LOCT partners represent many industries and as they continue to grow, the number of shared suppliers increases. Our combined effort with Industry peers through SLOCT allows us to support a larger number of suppliers and ultimately have a greater impact. We’re proud to be able to expand our impact through collaboration.
SLOCT mobilizes collective climate action by providing suppliers with resources, tools, and knowledge to support their own climate journeys. As of Fall 2023, over 850 suppliers representing 65 countries have participated in Supplier LOCT of which 276 are suppliers of the Food & Beverage Industry. The courses are tailored to fit the needs of diverse businesses including those with sustainability teams and those who are just starting their climate journey.
Courses have three primary components:
- An educational seminar series
- Supplier maturity scoring, with four levels of recognition
- A monthly check-in to drive dialogue for brands
Suppliers enroll each Spring and Fall season, taking classes once a month for six months, accessing materials on a custom learning platform, completing assignments, asking questions in discussion forums, and attending office hours for additional help. Suppliers also receive personalized instruction throughout each course and return season after season to take additional courses, advancing their knowledge. After each course they complete, they are awarded a course completion certificate to showcase their accomplishment. But their recognition doesn’t stop there. As suppliers achieve key climate milestones, they’re awarded a badge, which symbolizes their growth and acquired expertise.
Sustainable Agriculture Programs:
Sustainable agriculture offers solutions to interrelated issues such as human rights, water security, climate resilience, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction and women’s empowerment.
We do not buy agricultural raw materials directly from farms, but mostly processed and refined ingredients from suppliers. Therefore, it is very important to us to work with our suppliers to achieve our vision of sustainable agriculture and to work with them to engage their farm base, with emphasis on collaboration and continuous improvement.
We are also committed to collaboration across the wider industry and support credible third-party standards to simplify assurance and certifications for the farmers in our supply chain. For example, the Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform, the Bonsucro sustainable cane standard and Rainforest Alliance certifications are three of the leading standards we support.
As an example, Bonsucro is the Coca-Cola System most preferred sustainable sugar cane standard. TCCC, on behalf of the System, worked with Bonsucro members to create the first global metric standard for sustainable sugar cane production, and was the first to purchase Bonsucro certified sugar in 2011. TCCC also achieved Bonsucro Chain of Custody Standard certification, which enables the tracking of claims on the sustainable production of Bonsucro sugar cane and all sugar cane-derived products along the entire supply chain.
Through our active recruitment of our sugar suppliers and continuous support of the Bonsucro Certification, we leverage Bonsucro specialists to work with businesses of all kinds across the sugarcane sector to improve their social, environmental and commercial performance, bringing together a thriving international community that is creating a sustainable modern industry.
Bonsucro use their expertise to deliver training, develop resources and run impact projects and help our critical Tier 1 and Tier 2 supply base make the changes needed to achieve sustainability and gain independent certifications when they successfully do so.
Rain Forest Alliance, Fairtrade International, Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI Platform), Global G.A.P. & GRASP certifications equally have in place similar to Bonsucro farm level support and development programs that secure the farmers are able to continuously improve and maintain their PSA certifications.
ESG Educational Programs:
EcoVadis goes beyond assessment and the development of corrective action plans to help our Buyers and Suppliers develop their knowledge around the entire spectrum of ESG matters. This they achieve by means of the EcoVadis Academy.
The academy contains courses designed to help our registered Suppliers and Buyer community improve their sustainability management practices. The course materials cover policies, actions and reporting across the 4 sustainability themes as well as broader topics such as training, certification, and risk management. All courses have an introductory chapter outlining the content of the course and an animated video providing an overview of learning objectives. Courses also feature customer testimonial videos and guidance for those getting started and conclude with a question quiz. EcoVadis Academy courses are interactive, engaging, and require a high level of participation.
Moreover, CCHBC in collaboration with EcoVadis we have developed a series of customized educational trainings, open to all our Critical Suppliers and our Buyers, that we conduct on annual basis in order to support our vendors and their teams develop their knowledge on significant ESG issues and keep them up to speed with latest developments on regulatory and market level.
Topics for 2023-2024 Training Series:
- Introduction to Sustainability
- Modern Slavery Act
- Carbon and GHG Emissions
- EcoVadis Assessment and Corrective Action Plans
- EU Deforestation Directive (EUDR)
- Single use Plastic Directive (SUP)
Corrective Action Plans Support:
For those suppliers that demonstrate high risks and low maturity we have introduced in 2023 specific series of trainings under the theme: “Driving ESG Improvement”.
Moreover, we are offering ESG performance debrief sessions carried out between EcoVadis specialists and the responsible vendor’ teams to secure that our suppliers develop in depth understanding on how they can improve and accelerate on their ESG journey.