| 01 | 02MEET OUR CORE
Brands
Real tea - just big, whole tea leaves, whole herbs, berries and spices
Quality meals from palace to plate
Teas for every taste and occasion - a household favourite
Tea from the bold flavours of nature
Coffee so good you’ll want to drink it black
Super crunchy, super tasty, super good muesli
| 03the first
Word
Welcome to Tata Consumer Products, a family of quality food and drink products sourced from ingredients from all round the world.
As a custodian of many household names, including many heritage brands, we have a responsibility to live everyday with purpose and meaning.
Our purpose is to deliver Better Moments Today, For A Better Future Tomorrow, a sentiment that captures the very essence of who we are. A company who in pursuing our purpose does the right thing in sourcing and production; cares about quality, nutrition and the sense of togetherness and special moments great food and drink can deliver; and works to protect the long-term future of our planet, and the many different communities which inhabit it.
Let us show you a glimpse of our world.
Gharry Eccles
President -
International Business
| 04Foreword
Thank you for your interest in the work we’re doing to make a difference through our sustainability programme.
Sustainability encompasses a huge breadth of activities and responsibilities, and we encapsulate this through our vision to build better lives and thriving communities, in what we term #ForBetter.
Although you might not be familiar with Tata Consumer Products you will know our well-loved brands – Tetley; Good Earth; teapigs; Eight O’Clock Coffee; Joyfull and Raasa to name a few, and it’s through these brands we’ll show you the different ways in which we work #ForBetter.
All Tata Consumer Products’ international businesses work to the same goals; but different nuances come into play as we respond to to the very dynamic legislative environment regarding climate change; packaging waste and Governance reporting requirements.
We’re purposely not going to take you into the nitty gritty of different legislative frameworks, but we do want to talk simply about the good things that we are doing, as well as the things we know we need to work on, so that you can share this journey with us and have a better understanding of the brands you love.
Cassie Shuttlewood
Head of Strategy Deployment, Sustainability & Communication
#FORBETTER
FORBETTER Planet
We do all we can to look after the planet we share; cutting waste to landfill; non-recyclable plastics; and carbon and other emissions that harm the environment.
FORBETTER PRODUCTS
We aim to boost wellbeing with great tasting products made from sustainably and ethically sourced ingredients.
FORBETTER people
We are a people business caring for each other and others in communities close to us and further afield.
| 05
For Better
Planet
| 06
| 07our uk journey to net zero
| 08one man’s waste
is another's
TREASURE
We’re really proud that all our beverage production sites are zero waste to landfill.
Our UK tea factory in Eaglescliffe achieved this in 2013; our US coffee factory in 2014; and our tea factory in India in 2019. Eaglescliffe has 1,331 tons of waste repurposed or recycled each and every year, we love an animal stat, so in case you’re wondering whether that’s a lot or not, it’s close to the weight of some 200 adult African elephants!
So just what happens
to all this waste:
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For Better
Products
| 12We know these are frightening and tragic statistics, but what we want to illustrate is why the circular economy, a big concept when talking about the environment, is so important.
| 13
| 14Packing
the benefit in!
Supporting packaging recyclability programmes around the globe, we in the international business (outside of India), have pledged that 100% of our packaging will be recyclable, re-usable or compostable by 2025.
- We signed the UK Plastics Pact in 2018 and in 2023.
- We were the first tea company to sign up to the Canadian Plastics Pact.
- In Australia in line with the Australian Packaging Covenant, we are committed to sustainable targets to achieve 100% sustainable packaging.
Working hard towards our targets, we have made a significant USD 53.2m investment to deliver some pretty impressive transformation projects to benefit us across our international business.
a look at tea
As one of the largest tea factories in the world, Eaglescliffe has pioneered world class developments in carbon reduction; production efficiency; and waste reduction, but change was needed to advance to the next stage of our ambitious sustainability programme and capability.
Many of our tea bag machines had been in use since the 50s and 60s (so officially vintage). We came to the point where we had to either move and scrap the machines and invest millions to install new, or take a different route to repurpose; and that’s exactly what we did, by working with a long term automation partner Sewtec to work on a substantial modernisation and equipment upgrade programme.
The result was probably one of the most ambitious reduce reuse and recycle projects around!
The project not only reduced scrap material tonnage, but delivered higher performance and efficiency, with production time per machine improved by 30%.
| 15the clever widget developed by our engineers with our equipment suppliers has been a great success - plant-based tea bags are rolling out!
| 16TACKLING THE PACKAGING
Challenge
Whilst moving to plant-based tissue is an important part of our drive to improve the sustainability of our tea bags, we have some other priorities, to:
- Remove any unnecessary plastics (things like wrappings or pouches if they are not needed to protect the product).
- Ensure any necessary plastic packaging used is recyclable.
- Reduce the amount of packaging used overall.
A major pack change
One of the biggest packaging projects we have undertaken is to address the recyclability of one of our major packaging formats in the UK.
When developed some 30 years ago it was a real breakthrough. Essentially a laminate paper pack, it could be closed again once opened, took less space in cupboards and on shelf in stores.
However, as time moved on, we hit a problem, the thin layer of laminate covering the paper pack, which gave it strength, meant it could not be recycled. We needed a solution that would combine the best qualities of softpack, but could be totally recycled. We’ve cracked it with a new carton design being introduced in the UK, Australia, US & Canada.
| 17keeping on
Track
As we progress towards our goals there is always a lot going on, knowing what packaging we have and how it can be disposed helps keep us on track, and you informed on what can be done with the packaging after use.
Key
*At local collection points / check locally
** Industrially compostable
| 18KICK BACK WITH A
Coffee
We have an amazing coffee brand in the US called Eight O’Clock, it’s been around for some time and first got its name from 8 O’Clock being the time most Americans enjoyed their coffee – now of course it’s all round the clock, but the name has stuck.
When it comes to sustainability, the same pillars apply to coffee as they do with tea, but here we’re talking packaging.
Eight O’Clock, or EOC for short, has two major packaging formats: bags for our beans and ground coffee, and coffee pods with our partners Keurig cups. All K cups are 100% recyclable.
* check locally
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For Better
People
| 21working with others
for positive
Change
When you’re on a mission to make a difference, it’s always good to have someone by your side. We believe in the power of partnerships and there are a number which are really important to us:
The Rainforest Alliance
In our tea business, the green frog seal that can be found on many of our tea packs shows that the tea inside has been sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. This means that farmers manage their land more sustainably and protect the environment, and workers on the farms benefit from improved livelihoods.
Rainforest Alliance certified farms are checked against a rigorous standard for sustainable agriculture by independent auditors. The results of the audit include recommendations and suggestions for improvements. You can see more about this at ra.org
The Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP)
ETP is a global membership organisation working with tea companies, development organisations and governments to improve the lives of tea workers, farmers, and their environment. Its aim is to drive long-term, systemic change tackling the most pressing economic, equality and environmental issues, as well as supporting communities on the ground with programmes across Africa and Asia.
For us, ETP is an important partner when it comes to some of the projects we support in tea growing communities.
International Women’s Coffee Alliance
Eight O’Clock Coffee (EOC) is a Silver Sustaining Partner with the IWCA, a global network of organisations working to achieve sustainable livelihoods through empowering women.
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support
Malawi
“I am now able to study and my performance has improved. My parents and my teachers are proud.”
Tina
| 23empowered
Savings
With the formal banking system not available to the economically vulnerable in Malawi; the risk of falling deeper into poverty can lead some to turn to potentially dangerous loan sharks with high rates of interest. Village Savings Loan Associations are designed to reduce reliance on this high-risk practice.
VSLAs are self-managed groups of 15-25 people, where members are given skills training, and coaching on financial literacy and management. Members put their savings into a joint fund which they can continue to pay into, or borrow from, at an agreed interest rate for the course of a savings cycle of between 6-12 months.
As members repay their loans, the joint fund increases. At the end of the savings cycle the accumulated savings are shared out in proportion to the total savings each person has put in. After the ‘share-out,’ the group can then start a new savings cycle if they wish.
| 24opening the door to opportunity
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giving back to the
Planet
Sustainability and environmental values are at the heart of our Good Earth tea brand. They feel that as they take the best that nature has to offer to create the bold flavours of nature found in its teas, then they need to give back to nature as well.
Good Earth in the UK gives the equivalent of 1% of gross sales to environmental non-profit causes through the 1% for the Planet initiative, and through this sponsors Bright Green Future, an environmental leadership and empowerment programme for 16-19 year olds inspiring young people to be changemakers and make a positive impact.
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| 28
| 29working together for
Better
As a company we’re big on helping others and every member of staff is given two days paid leave to volunteer for something close to their hearts.
Whether an organised volunteer month, volunteering on personal time, or just getting together to raise funds and do some good, we’re always on it, working together #ForBetter.
Here’s a few of the things we’ve been up to:
- Our UK team went big on #helloyellow to support their chosen charity Young Minds.
- Our heroic marathon runners supported Macmillan via the TCS London Marathon and America Scores New York via the TCS New York Marathon.
Books and learning have taken centre stage together with food and beverage donations.
- Our US team participated in a Tata Sons sponsored Truck of Books event, donating 37,000 books to New Jersey educators.
- The Canadian Team supported First Book; reading with, and distributing books to Grade 5 students at Grenoble Public School in Toronto, with a large population of child refugees from war torn nations many have never owned a book.
| 30
working together for
Better
We’re big supporters of charities tackling hunger and food waste.
In the UK we are a leading food partner of Fareshare and our tea brands and Raasa Indian foods all gave generously over the year.
- In 2023 Fareshare redistributed over 95 tonnes of food supporting close to 2,000 charities which help the homeless; low-income families; refugees and others. Our brands contributed to 21,593 plates of food as part of the Christmas food drive.
- Our great team of volunteers braved the cold to collect donations of food and drink from shoppers at a major retailer.
We look out for each other too we’ve trained Mental Health First Aiders in the business, and most of the international business have access to the leading CalmApp where we are encouraged to take time to care for ourselves. We are big on the importance of fitness too – our US team led the way with a step challenge this year and not to be outdone other markets put their best foot forward too, the UK team collectively walked a distance from London to Assam and back – quite some feet (excuse the pun!).
| 31The club is also very community minded, and works with a local charity called Sprouts who run pop up events in deprived areas to deliver food and physical activity to the people in the area. A group, including Martin, teamed up with Sprouts and others in the community to build a new community hub for Sprouts in a deprived area of Thornaby – a great venture which saw Martin appear on a major television programme!
“With the company supporting volunteering it gives us all a great opportunity to go out and make a difference somewhere.”
A great venture and great spirit Martin.
