Since returning to the platform in December 2022, Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG) has been markedly involved in coffee sustainability action with and through GCP. In this Meeting Members feature, we get to know more about the company, find out how it is leveraging GCP tools to achieve its own sustainability objectives, and how those are aligned with GCP’s goal of transformative change for farmers around the world.
Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG) is a globally operating green coffee service group, focusing on coffee only. In more than 50 companies in 26 countries, over 3,000 employees are active in the sectors Export & Milling, Import, Farming, Agents & Representative Offices, and Services.
Sustainability and responsible conduct have always been integral to our work. In 2020, we launched the NKG Responsible Business Program, which defines four focus areas that should serve us as a guideline for future commitment on sustainability. Our focus areas “Our people”, “Supply chains”, “Producers”, and “Planet” cover a set of objectives to further specify what we want to achieve within the next years.
To meet these goals and secure the future of coffee, we undertake a variety of efforts where our beloved coffee comes from and where we most urgently need to fight for its future: on the ground. Through our global network, NKG’s diversified sustainability efforts reach down to farm level to create sustainable supply chains benefitting everyone contributing to our daily cup of coffee.
NKG believes in the power of collaboration. In addition to an active contribution in other (supra-)national associations and committees as well as commercial and pre-competitive cooperation with various stakeholders, it was therefore a consistent decision to join the Global Coffee Platform, as Group CEO David M. Neumann explains:
“We decided to re-join the GCP to collaborate with like-minded individuals and industry participants towards achieving the urgently needed shared goals for a sustainable future of coffee. We are excited about the potential impact we can make together.”
At the same time, in 2021, Berindo Jaya joined the country platform in Indonesia to strongly collaborate on the ground through the Master trainers that are part of our team. Our collaboration with the country platform in Indonesia has allowed us to work closely with local communities and implement effective solutions for sustainable agriculture.
“We will continue directly and massively addressing the needs of the producers and how to best align the sustainability efforts to benefit the whole sector.”
Group CEO David M. Neumann
In addition, we decided to align with Coffee Sustainability Reference Code and the Equivalence Mechanism, as a common language to achieve common sustainability goals. NKG Bloom, our initiative for sustainable livelihoods, and NKG Verified, our initiative for sustainable coffee supplies to green buyers, are both recognized as equivalent. With this we want to provide additional assurance to customers interested in sourcing NKG coffees under sustainable sourcing practices supported by a program that meets the GCP Equivalence Mechanism sustainability and operational requirements with transparency and rigor.
This contribution forms part of a series called Meeting Members.
The words and images have been provided by Neumann Kaffee Gruppe.
