ETG’s Responsible Sourcing approach is guided by the ETG Coffee Procurement Guidelines and Supplier Code of Conduct, setting expectations for transparent and sustainable practices across our supply base. Support farmers through different verification and impact programs, allowing customers to navigate regulatory requirements, responsible sourcing goals, and certification needs.
The ETG Group Sustainability targets and results along with coffee specific figures are annually reported here.
Beyond Beans Program
Beyond Beans is ETG's proprietary verification program for sustainable coffee sourcing - built around four defining pillars: strengthening supply chains, supporting farmer prosperity, advancing social protection, and fostering environmental resilience. Aligned with the Coffee Sustainability Reference from the Global Coffee Platform, Beyond Beans translates complex sustainability checkpoints - from climate change to human rights - into practical farm-level checkpoints and structured support. It is not just a standard. It is the foundation from which broader impact is built.
The program operates across multiple coffee-producing origins, covering export operations, cooperatives, producer groups, and individual farmers. Compliance is independently verified: following an initial conformity validation phase, an accredited external auditor confirms long-term adherence. Beyond Beans gives buyers, partners, and producers a shared language for accountability - and ETG a structured basis for delivering sourcing that is transparent, traceable, and built to last.
EUDR
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requires coffee placed on the EU market to be fully traceable, legally produced, and verified as deforestation-free after 31 December 2020. With compliance deadlines approaching, ETG’s EUDR sourcing approach is designed to support buyers in meeting these requirements. The protocol combines ETG’s sourcing presence with supplier engagement and partnerships with geodata and monitoring tools such as Farmerline and Meridia. A structured due-diligence process is applied across origins and sourcing models, covering traceability, legality verification, and deforestation risk screening. Depending on contractual arrangements, ETG can either submit Due Diligence Statements or provide buyers with a complete EUDR data package for their own submissions.
Sustainably Certified Coffees
Third-party certifications remain an important tool in responsible coffee sourcing, providing independent assurance against recognised sustainability standards. ETG supports farmer groups in working toward certification compliance and access to certified markets. Certified supply chains are currently managed across 10 coffee-growing countries, with ongoing efforts to strengthen and expand this capacity.ETG offers Rainforest Alliance, 4C and Organic coffees.
Productivity & Quality
Productivity and quality are key contributors to farmer income and supply chain resilience. ETG supports farmers through activities such as seedling distribution, agronomy training and access to inputs and quality improvement equipment for cooperatives. Improved fertilizer use and access to finance are supported in collaboration with finance institutions and ETG input teams.
Living Income
ETG has calculated living income benchmarks for farming households across several origins, using recognised regional benchmarks and - where none existed (as in Togo) - co-funding primary research with Oxfam Novib and KIT. Field research and income proxies have been used to assess the living income gap in key sourcing regions. These findings directly inform pricing dialogue with suppliers, programme design, and our approach to farmer support services.
Diversification
Income improvement efforts extend beyond coffee income through diversification, cost reduction and risk mitigation. In Uganda, selected vulnerable households receive time-bound cash support through the 100WEEKS partnership, alongside weekly business, financial management and agronomy trainings. ETG also co-invests in health insurance schemes with local partner Elucid to reduce vulnerability linked to medical expenses.
Income diversification is supported through Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), particularly for women. Across farmer networks, VSLA members receive training and materials to develop off-farm enterprises and intercropping systems, with examples including mushroom production, poultry and beekeeping.
Human Rights
ETG conducts human rights due diligence (HRDD) across its coffee supply chains, aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We have mapped salient human rights risks by country and supply chain structure, prioritising by severity and likelihood of harm. Macro and micro risk assessments inform supplier engagement, on-the-ground monitoring, and programme design - with a focus on prevention and remedy rather than disengagement. Our HRDD process aligns with national legislation, ILO conventions and international human rights frameworks, and is operationalised through our Supplier Code of Conduct, training programmes and on the ground monitoring systems. Occupational health and safety, decent work, forced labour prevention and child labour risk mitigation are explicitly covered.
ETG is founding member of the UCLAP consortium in Uganda, which launched landscape collaborative Human Rights monitoring in Greater Masaka, through field surveys with research partner 60 decibels.
We work with certification schemes, local partners and institutions to ensure risks are identified, prioritized and addresses in context via supply chain partners or at landscape level.
The ETG grievance portal is available in English (click here ) and accessible to all workers and community members across our supply chain. Submissions can be made anonymously. ETG reports on grievances in the Group Sustainability Report. Local grievance focal points are available in coffee origins where ETG exports, for example through grievance boxes at field supplier level or a grievance phone line available in the local language.
Child and Forced Labour
Child and forced labour remain complex and contextualized challenges in agricultural supply chains. ETG applies a risk-based approach, combining awareness-raising, monitoring and remediation, and engages in sector learning to strengthen prevention practices. Below are examples of contextualized approaches.
In Togo, ETG works with Plan International and local institutions in communities and has established child protection groups to raise awareness and support households where children are at risk of child labour.
In Uganda, ETG has introduced the “CHILD” approach, a child labour prevention approach integrated into Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) groups. Developed by Beyond Beans, ETG’s sustainability foundation, the approach builds on experience from cocoa supply chains and is now being applied within coffee communities. The programme equips community‑based facilitators with practical, participatory tools to support dialogue on child labour, household decision‑making and shared responsibilities. Using visual methods and guided discussions, VSLA CHILD creates a safe space for men and women to reflect on risks and solutions at household and community level.
In Brazil, ETG has collaborated with a local cooperative to assess the contexts where forced labour risks arise. Subsequently, a multi-channel awareness and campaign was launched including online radio and on-farm visits.
Gender
Gender equity is recognised as a key factor in resilient coffee supply chains. ETG applies a gender-responsive approach informed by gender-disaggregated data and risk assessments across origins. Women are supported through VSLAs, GALS methodologies and targeted training, delivered with partners such as Inades, 100WEEKS and Rikolto. Engagement also includes decision-making by women in cooperatives in Togo and Uganda and sector platforms such as the Women Coffee Alliance in India.
Traceability and Supplier Engagement
Traceability underpins ETG’s responsible sourcing and regulatory preparedness. ETG operates multi-layered traceability systems combining supplier data, internal verification and third-party platforms. ETG engages in extensive field mapping of farm plots in several origins and supporting landscape mapping initiatives for national traceability systems in coffee growing countries to the effect that coffee is traceable to in-country supplier level or plot-level, in line with regulatory requirements such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
Deforestation
In March 2024, ETG Group signed a zero-deforestation commitment including coffee for its high-risk supply chains in Africa and Southeast Asia (link: ETG Zero Deforestation Commitment). ETG applies risk-based deforestation screening approach across coffee sourcing origins, in line with ETG Group policy and EU Deforestation Regulation requirements. Traceability and plot-level mapping - including satellite analysis via tools such as Meridia - form the foundation of our deforestation risk assessment. Where plot-level data is not yet available, ETG uses supplier-level verification and landscape risk classification as interim steps.
Climate
Carbon emissions from coffee production are driven by multiple factors, including land use, input use, and residue management - the relative weight of which varies by origin and production system. ETG has measured farm-level carbon footprints in selected supply chains to build a credible emissions baseline, with partners like Meo Carbon and Solidaridad. ETG has R&D and production pilots underway on biochar with local rural production partners in Uganda, Ethiopia and India. Results from these pilots will inform us of our emissions reduction roadmap.
Regenerative Agriculture
Regenerative agriculture practices are adapted to local conditions across ETG's sourcing origins. In Uganda, this includes agroforestry integration through shade tree distribution and conversion to organo-mineral fertilizer or nature-based solutions such as Proteen. In India, ETG supports optimization of fertilizer products and dosage and efficient use of water for irrigation. In Togo, ETG supports adoption of climate-adapted coffee varieties and windbreaks to prevent wildfires to reach coffee plantations. Implementation is delivered through trained agronomy teams, local cooperative partners, and landscape initiatives. ETG tracks adoption rates and farm-level outcomes, which is included in the Beyond Beans monitoring framework.
Reduced Agro-Chemical Use
ETG applies chemical management aligned with international conventions and recognised certification standards. Restricted substance lists and monitoring systems inform training and risk prioritisation. Reduction efforts focus on integrated pest management, safer alternatives and gradual phase-out of higher-risk inputs, supported by partners and sector collaborations such as UCLAP.
Biodiversity and Reforestation
Our efforts to protect biodiversity and support reforestation combine environmental restoration with resilient farming systems. Through community land reforestation in partnership with ADE, ETG and local coffee cooperatives are restoring degraded communal land in Togo’s Plateau region, establishing windbreaks, and supporting smallholder farmers facing drought, land degradation, and wildfires. Biodiversity protection is further strengthened through careful seedling selection for agroforestry, which enhances on‑farm biodiversity and reduces reliance on chemical inputs. In parallel, beekeeping initiatives implemented with farmers in two countries support pollination, diversify incomes, and reinforce healthy agro‑ecosystems.