Ethical Sourcing

Fairtrade products

Fairtrade helps ensure farmers in developing countries get a fair deal for their crops. Farmers are often paid a Fairtrade bonus for their produce which helps finance a wide range of local projects from village schools and clinics to improved housing and sanitation.

We are committed to supporting Fairtrade and have over 50 Fairtrade products in our range.

We were the first foodservice company to launch own label Fairtrade products and are committed to increase the overall Fairtrade product offering by 50% by 2012. We also aim for all Brakes own brand hot beverages to be Fairtrade accredited by the end of 2013.

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Animal welfare

Brakes Group is committed to ensuring high standards of animal welfare from the farmers and suppliers who work with us.  We support a number of of assurance schemes and initiatives to ensure animal welfare is improved.

RSPCA Freedom Food Accreditation

The RSPCA’s Freedom Food accreditation food labelling scheme is dedicated to improving the welfare standards of farm animals reared for food in the UK. It ensures they are provided with an environment that gives them a good quality of life and meets their physical and psychological needs. Prime Meats is a passionate advocate of the RSPCA Freedom Foods Scheme and offers accredited pork sausages, sliced ham and chicken breast.

Prime Meats is committed to doubling its Freedom Foods range by the end of 2012.

Livestock transportation

In order to minimise the stress associated with prolonged transportation, 75% of Prime Meats British beef is slaughtered within 50 miles of where the animal was reared.

Illegal fishing practices and commercial whaling

Since 2007 all our fish and seafood suppliers have signed a commitment stating that they will not use fish and seafood caught through illegal practices. They also agree that their organisation is not involved in commercial whaling activities.

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Ethical trading – screening suppliers

Our policy is to purchase goods which are produced in conditions that do not involve the abuse or exploitation of anyone.

We expect our suppliers, both in their own companies and those of their suppliers, to commit to work towards full compliance with labour standards based upon those set by the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI) and which reflect the key elements of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions. When procuring from outside the EU, we will only use suppliers whose facilities are of the equivalent EU approved standard and would never knowingly accept food products from suppliers who exploit the people or natural resources of their environment.

Ethical trading forms part of our supplier selection process and our key partners are measured on this annually.

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Ethical trading culture

All our supplier facing team in the UK who are responsible for sourcing food are instructed in the principles of ethical trading, taught how to assess potential suppliers suitability against the Brakes Ethical Trading Checklist and are empowered to escalate concerns.

When there are concerns about a supplier an independent auditor is appointed and we will work with the supplier to ensure that the conditions for their workforce adhere to our standards.

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