KDP Wins Reuters Responsible Business Award
Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP)’s efforts within our coffee supply chain were acknowledged during the 12th annual Responsible Business Awards virtual ceremony that took place in October 2021. KDP was announced the winner of the Social and Human Capital category. For this award, the top recipient needed to demonstrate it has adopted a strategic approach to Social and Human Capital management that puts people at the center of its business model.
The ceremony highlighted KDP’s 20-year investment in the livelihoods of coffee farmers, specifically the creation and publishing of a standardized approach to measure the impact of these investments.
For example, KDP has invested $64M in social impact projects since 2003 to address the coffee sector’s key challenges, including climate change, price volatility, and lack of access to credit. One such project is the Partnership for Sustainable Coffee. A three-year collaboration with Root Capital and Feed the Future, the program has reached 183 farmer businesses with advisory services and has supported sustainable livelihoods for 330,000 coffee farmers. In 2020, the project was selected by B4IG’s Accelerator program to explore how targeted services to smallholder farmer businesses have supported their success as KDP suppliers, and how that improved performance is driving value for KDP.
KDP was also recognized for the development of a publicly shared Monitoring & Evaluation approach, pushing projects to look beyond “outputs” to “outcomes.” The methodology focuses on farming techniques, water stewardship, climate resilience, and strengthening farmer organizations. It includes relevant KPI’s focused on measuring actual changes in behavior and livelihood. This approach has proven to be critical in selecting impactful projects and partnerships, as well as measuring and tracking progress against our corporate responsibility goals.
KDP is proud to be the winner of this award, receiving this feedback from the judges:
“Keurig Dr Pepper was a stand-out winner with an innovative evaluation and measurement approach that covered the most material issues for its farmer suppliers. Backed up by strong KPIs and a commitment to transparency, the approach provides a model for industry-wide interventions that meaningfully address critical social issues for agricultural suppliers.”
KDP will continue to invest in farmer livelihoods and to apply learnings from its 20-year coffee journey to ensure its stakeholders and the business continue to thrive.