More information
Description
Estonian food retailers’ supplying practices and citizens’ purchasing decisions impact the human rights of vulnerable populations at the beginning of the supply chains, the environment and climate change. Estonian food retailers, however, largely ignore such sustainability risks, an issue reinforced by lacking societal awareness and insufficient transparency of companies’ internal operations. The project aims to promote the support of the Estonian society for human rights, equal treatment and environmental protection by enhancing the sustainability of food retailers’ supply chains. To achieve this, Estwatch will conduct two studies on the responsibility of food retailers’ supply chains and, together with NGO Mondo, raise citizens’ awareness and involvement in responsible consumption, empower civil society to protect human rights and environment more effectively, and guide companies to be more responsible via dialogue and public pressure.
Project’s expected outcomes include:
Advanced understanding and transparency on how studied companies mitigate sustainability risks in supply chains and what they should do more effectively.
Stronger public dialogue on the studied companies’ responsibility practices has led to increased awareness of human rights, equal treatment, and climate change in Estonia.
Citizens and civil society are more empowered to guide the companies to be more responsible.
The studied companies have become more responsible by more effectively managing supply chains’ sustainability risks.
Summary of project results
Over the past few decades, the globalization of trade and manufacturing has deepened the interaction and mutual influence of countries and companies located in different parts of the world. In this way, the supply chain decisions of Estonian retail chains and the consumption decisions of Estonian people direct demand on the world market, which in turn affects the human rights and the right to equal treatment of people at the beginning of supply chains. In addition, all consumption and supply decisions made in Estonia also impact the environment and climate change, which proportionally affects the most vulnerable countries and people.
To strengthen support for human rights at the beginning of supply chains and in developing countries, to positively impact the lives of producers and workers there, and to contribute to mitigating climate change, it is important that:
- Estonian people consume responsibly produced products,
- Retail chains offer only fairly produced goods, and
- Civil society organizations can guide both consumers and retail chains to act more responsibly through communication and advocacy.
In light of the above, the broader goal of the project is to increase support for human rights and equal treatment in Estonian society and to support climate change mitigation by promoting justice, transparency, and sustainability in the economic system, particularly in the retail chains of food products. More specifically, the project aims to investigate the ecological and social responsibility of food retail chains and suppliers, empower Estonian people to consume more responsibly, provide civil society organizations with arguments and knowledge-based input for pressuring retail chains, and guide Estonian food retail chains and suppliers to being more responsible by effectively considering and managing human rights and climate change-related risks and threats in their supply chains.
Project main activities were three-fold: conducting research and surveys, advocacy activities in cooperation with various stakeholders and communication work to share the findings and project results with the broader public. These three directions are reflected in four specific outputs of the project: conducting and publishing two studies, creating a working document, and supporting the implementation of one international study and campaign in Estonia.
The first study, "The True Cost of the Food Basket: Responsibility in Estonian Food Retail Chains’ Supply Chains 2022," was carried out to map and assess, more broadly, whether and how Estonia’s largest food retailers account for and manage human rights, environmental, and climate risks in their business operations. The main result showed that retail chains operating in Estonia either inadequately or not at all manage these risks. The study created a broader framework that allowed comparisons of food retailers based on various criteria, drawing on similar studies conducted in other countries. The study also provided retailers with clear guidelines on what is expected of them in different areas (including broader transparency, responsibility, and governance, as well as criteria related to workers'' rights, primary producers, and smallholder farmers'' rights and interests). The study helped establish a benchmark in the fair-trade sector, directing retailers to compete with each other based on responsibility indicators.
The second study, "The Responsibility of Estonian Food Retailers in the Banana Supply Chain," builds on the first and analyzes more specifically the environmental and social risks associated with the production of bananas, one of the most popular fruits among Estonian consumers, and how food retailers address and mitigate these risks when sourcing bananas. The results show that bananas are mainly part of general procurement sustainability rules, but these do not sufficiently describe the conditions and requirements most important for reducing the specific risks associated with banana production. Additionally, there are shortcomings in the enforcement of sustainability-related procurement requirements.
The third study, published during the project period as a working document, is titled "Land Use by Animal Food Industries in Estonia." The aim of the underlying study is to assess how much of Estonia''s agricultural land is used by animal food industries (meat, milk, eggs) for grazing animals and growing animal feed, to better understand how land could be used more sustainably and efficiently. The results show that animal food industries occupy nearly 60% of Estonia’s agricultural land.
Research results were presented to various stakeholders, including civil society food networks, retailers, producers, and wholesalers at a joint seminar “How to Move Forward?”, to the Ministry of Rural Affairs, and on many other platforms. The research findings and recommendations were shared with target groups from the private, public, and third sectors. The media coverage, presentations, and outreach efforts amplified the dissemination of the research results, raised awareness of the issues, expectations, and opportunities for development in research areas, and empowered different stakeholders to contribute to systemic change based on their area of expertise.
The fourth area of work involved supporting the international study and campaign "Chocolate Scorecard." The study assessed the 38 largest chocolate companies in the world, which produce and supply 80-90% of the world’s chocolate, based on how responsibly the cocoa beans used in chocolate production are grown. As part of the project, two well-known Estonian companies, Fazer and Orkla (which owns the Kalev brand), were added to the study for the first time.
When the study was published, the ranking of companies and communication materials were adapted to the Estonian context, and the results were shared in press releases and social media posts raising awareness of the responsibility of well-known chocolate brands and empowering citizens and civil society organizations to make more informed choices about the brands they purchase.
The project aimed to make Estonian retailers more responsible in their supply chains and increase support for human rights and environmental protection among Estonian citizens. It facilitated two studies on responsible supply chain management in the food retail sector, created a working document on the sustainability of the Estonian meat and animal industries, and contributed to the international “Chocolate Scorecard” study and campaign.
The project enhanced knowledge and transparency regarding how companies manage human rights and environmental risks in their supply chains, raised public awareness of responsible practices, and empowered citizens and CSOs to influence companies to manage risks more effectively. It also encouraged companies to adopt more responsible operations and supply chains.
The sustainability of the project’s results is ensured in several ways: First, empowering target groups during the project leads to increased awareness and responsible behavior beyond the project. Second, the research documents support public discussion and decision-making at individual, corporate, and political levels even after the project. Third, the research methods and criteria serve as a strong foundation for future studies. Finally, collaboration between responsible organizations in the food sector was established, laying the groundwork for continued work in this area beyond the project''s conclusion.