| British American Tobacco
| On a global basis two thirds of the tobacco supplied is through direct contracts with farmers with the other one third purchased from third party suppliers. BAT works directly with 37,000 farmers in Africa providing direct technical and financial support to ensure that the farmer's full potential is realised. To promote sustainability throughout the entire leaf supply chain a programme pioneered and lead by BAT called Social Responsibility in Tobacco Production develops our suppliers as regards agriculture, environment, occupational health and safety and socio economic factors. We are working with NGOs on the impacts on ecosystems and environment. The management of forestry and biodiversity are components of the leaf strategy, encouraging the development of tree planting for tobacco curing fuel and minimising biodiversity impact of our operations. BAT is also an inaugural member the ECLT Foundation, a multi-stakeholder initiative that tackles labour issues in tobacco growing.
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| Business Action for Africa | The Business Action for Africa Enterprise Development Project is chaired by Anglo American, Barclays, Rio Tinto, SABMiller, Shell Foundation and Unilever. This is exploring the scope for collective action though companies' supply chains—from enterprise development through to advocacy, with an initial focus on Kenya, Ghana and Zambia.
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| Cadbury Schweppes | Cadbury Schweppes has two goals on sourcing: to maintain its ethical sourcing standards, and develop sustainable sourcing programmes for its agricultural raw materials. Its ethical sourcing strategy focuses on working with its suppliers to continue to improve workplace conditions and sustainable agriculture. The company shares with the fair trade movement a commitment to improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers and their families. For nearly 100 years, the company has worked with colleagues in Ghana and now plays a leading role within the International Cocoa Initiative to help raise levels of working conditions, sustainable farming practices and community prosperity. The company's focus has been to help improve standards of living by developing sustainable high quality crops that generate a long term and higher return for all farmers. The company has helped establish programmes in this area, such as the Sustainable Tree Crops Programme.
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| Diageo | Since the 1980s when Guinness Nigeria pioneered the use of locally-grown sorghum and maize in brewing to replace more expensive imported grains, we have continued to invest in locally grown cereals and new technologies in West and East Africa to help local farmers increase their output and secure long-term sustainable income. More recently, in Ghana and Sierra Leone we are supporting the development of sorghum in areas where poverty is high. We also provide skills training and access to farming products to help local farmers improve their productivity.
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| Ethical Trading Initiative | The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) is an alliance of companies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and trade union organisations. ETI aims to improve working conditions by promoting and improving code implementation. Their NGO, trade union and corporate members work together to identify what constitutes "good practice" in code implementation, and then promote and share this good practice. ETI also encourages companies to adopt the "ETI Base Code" and implement it in their supply chains.
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| Marks and Spencer | Last year, M&S became the first major retailer to switch all the coffee and tea it sells to Fairtrade. This alone is estimated to have increased the value of all Fairtrade instant and ground coffee sold in UK supermarkets by 18%, and increased the value of Fairtrade tea by around 30%. This follows their decision in 2005 to sell only Fairtrade coffee and tea in their Café Revive coffee shops, the UK's third largest chain of coffee shops—a move that it is estimated will grow out-of-home sales of Fairtrade coffee and tea by 23 and 11% respectively. In 2006, M&S was also the first major high street retailer to introduce a range of Fairtrade cotton clothing. Its "Look Behind the Label" campaign communicates its position on CSR issues of most concern to customers, including on ethical standards. M&S' research shows shoppers want to be able to buy more Fairtrade products.
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| Nestlé | In 2005, Nestlé UK launched a Fairtrade certified coffee—Nescafé Partners Blend—as part of a long-term commitment to developing sustainable agricultural practices. Its suppliers for Partners' Blend are all smallholders from El Salvador and Ethiopia who have been adversely affected by the regular fluctuations in coffee prices. Nestlé research indicates the product will appeal to a new consumer group that, while not currently regular purchases of Fairtrade coffee, are predisposed to fair trade and/or sustainable products.
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| SABMiller | By switching to an indigenous raw material—sorghum—and using small-scale farmers to supply it, Nile Breweries (Uganda) and Zambia Breweries have been able to replace expensive imported ingredients to produce Eagle Lager. Now an award winning product with market shares of 50 and 15% in Uganda and Zambia, Eagle has brought significant financial benefits to the businesses and to farmers—with over 10,000 now with access to a new, credible and long-term market with guaranteed prices. More generally, SABMiller has adopted a set of responsible sourcing principles covering business conduct, working conditions, employment, child labour, wages, diversity and freedom of association.
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| Shell Foundation | Africa's entrepreneurs—not increased aid and debt relief—will drive the economic growth Africa requires to pull itself up. The Foundation's "Trading UP" programme unlocks markets for developing world producers through the provision of appropriate finance, business development assistance and access to "mainstream" markets through strategic partnerships with major retailers such as Marks & Spencer. Its vision is to transform retail supply chains—taking goods from the fields and workshops to the retailer's shelves—so that they positively contribute to poverty alleviation while still making commercial sense. The foundation supported one small Ugandan dried fruit company with some seed-capital to buy computers and train its staff, and helped it access financing from a local bank so that it could build a new processing plant. Three years on, one thousand jobs have been created and the company is selling its produce in more than 700 Tesco stores in Britain.
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| Unilever | Unilever works with thousands of small farmers and suppliers to manufacture and distribute food and household products. Together with The World Conservation Union, Netherlands Development Organisation and The World Agroforestry Centre, Unilever is helping local communities and small businesses to cultivate Allanblackia seeds, which are rich in an oil with unique properties that can be used to produce food products and soap.
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