What is Value Chain Investment at Taylors?
Taylors Sourcing Approach (TSA) was started in 2013, with the goal of placing quality, sustainability and relationships at the heart of how we operate.
We work hard to build strong relationships with tea and coffee suppliers by establishing long term contracts with them, which typically run for three years. This creates security and reassurance which allows suppliers to plan for the future and leads to a stable and dependable supply of tea and coffee for our customers.
TSA aspires to work collaboratively with our suppliers to find ways in which we can address the social and environmental challenges they face day to day. To read more on TSA, click here.
VCI’s at origin
‘Value Chain Investments’ is the term we use to describe the projects we support with the suppliers we work with and these are set up in two ways, directly with our suppliers by funding projects designed in collaboration with them or through funding larger scale projects with NGOs and industry partners such as the Ethical Tea Partnership or World Coffee Research.
This allows us to operate projects on a larger scale as well as supporting those important, smaller scale community-based projects. The length of these projects varies dependent on need and scope, some may only need to run for a year to achieve the KPI’s put in place, others require 3 – 5 years of planning, investment and scope to see success.
We recognise that to have an extensive and enduring impact, it is essential to work closely with others and be part of the conversation for greater change. That’s why we’re so actively engaged in industry bodies and alongside certification schemes – investing our time and resources to help lift standards where we can.
A key part of our sourcing approach is our projects, designed in partnership with our suppliers. These are investments we make back into our supply chain to directly support the tea and coffee farmers we source from. This work requires strong relationships with our suppliers to understand their needs and to communicate with them to address some of the issues they face every day.
Taylors have been implementing VCIs since 2012 to support our sourcing approach goals. In 2023 we invested £1.21 million into 45 VCI projects, in 14 countries. The work varied from investing in tree planting and on farm technology, to installing potable water systems; supporting education and gender programmes to empower women in their communities, along with projects to improve health, and sanitation and provide additional income opportunities.
You can find out more about our 2023 Value Chain Investments here.