Tanganda Tea Company

Lobbying
Tanganda Tea Company discloses a list of its business associations. It has however an opportunity to further show leadership by disclosing a list of trade associations of which it is a member for all jurisdictions in which it operates.

Stakeholder engagement
The company discloses an overview of the issues raised during its regular and ongoing stakeholder engagement activities as well as the engagement channels, for each stakeholder group.

Water
The company demonstrates reducing water withdrawal in its own operations.

No leading practices were identified in the social inclusion and community impact area.

Act ethically
The company discloses that the Board, through the Finance Director, is responsible for ensuring compliance with the tax strategy. Additionally, the company provides information on income tax payments for all of its tax jurisdictions.

Provide and promote decent work
The company provides information regarding the percentage of its total direct operations workforce that is covered by collective bargaining agreements. Additionally, it discloses the proportion of women in each employee category of its total direct operations workforce.

Lobbying
The company has an opportunity to disclose a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with its sustainability targets and to report (potential) misalignments.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
While the company states that it has a materiality assessment, it has an opportunity to disclose its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability topics and impacts. This should include how regularly the assessment is undertaken. Also, the company could disclose group wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain and report consistently against all its targets. Additionally, it has an opportunity to disclose having persons, teams or committees who are responsible for the implementation of its sustainability strategy. Furthermore, it could link performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. Lastly, although the company states that the board of directors has expertise in environmental management and health and safety, it could disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise with respect to the company’s most material sustainability topics including nutrition, climate, water, soil health, social inclusion, ecosystem conversion and biodiversity.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
No evidence was found regarding the company’s efforts to avoid ecosystem conversion, including deforestation, or promote restoration. The company has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets.

GHG emissions
The company should set time-bound targets to reduce its scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions as well as report progress against them. Crucially, the company needs to reduce its scope 1,2 and 3 emissions and its targets need to align with a 1.5-degree trajectory.

Impact and dependencies assessment
The company has an opportunity to disclose assessments of its impacts on nature, including biodiversity, within its own operations and in its supply chain. It also has the opportunity to disclose its dependencies on nature within its own operations and upstream business relationships.

Invasive species
The company has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive alien species in its own operations.

Key areas and species
While the company discloses biodiversity details about the Chirinda forest adjacent to its eastern border, it still has an opportunity to comprehensively list species in or adjacent to all its own locations and those of its suppliers. Additionally, it can improve by disclosing locations significant for biodiversity within its own operations and supplier networks. It should also include species’ conservation status according to national and international standards.

Resource exploitation and circularity performance
No evidence was found regarding the company’s efforts to work towards a circular economy or which organisms it exploits. The company has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets.

Solid and air pollution
The company does not disclose relevant information related to pollution in its operations or supply chains.

Water
The company has an opportunity to further improve water withdrawal by setting a time-bound target, disclosing water withdrawals in water-stressed areas, and engaging with suppliers. The company does not disclose relevant information on water pollution or rights to water in its operations or supply chains.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
The company does not show if it is committed to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights or land rights of local communities.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
The company has an opportunity to commit to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders. Moreover, it should track its actual or potential negative impacts on the health of local communities.

Act ethically
The company could formalize its anti-bribery and anti-corruption commitment in a public policy document. Describing the process for identifying such risks, especially within specific locations or activities, is essential. Anti-corruption clauses in contracts with business relationships could be added.

Moreover, ensuring accessible and anonymous mechanisms for stakeholders to report bribery and corruption concerns is crucial. Establishing a policy for lobbying and political engagement and disclosing a clear statement of non-political contributions would enhance transparency. Sharing lobbying expenditure details and enforcing compliance for third-party lobbyists with the company’s policy would reinforce ethical lobbying practices.

Provide and promote decent work
The company has an opportunity to disclose a policy commitment to respecting the health and safety of workers across both its operations and supply chain. Moreover, it could strengthen this by presenting evidence of its monitoring of suppliers’ adherence to health and safety standards.

Furthermore, there’s room for the company to enhance its transparency by revealing a time-bound target for paying a living wage for all employees. The company could effectively work towards this objective by disclosing the process of determining the living wage in various operational regions. Additionally, the company could illuminate its collaboration with suppliers to ensure the implementation of living wage practices.

Simultaneously, the company could take a significant step by committing to gender equality and women’s empowerment. To reinforce this commitment, it could disclose related targets while showcasing the representation of women on its highest governance body.

Respect human rights
The company has an opportunity to disclose a policy statement that commits to respecting human rights recognized as fundamental rights at work by the ILO, and extend this expectation to its suppliers. In terms of risk identification, the company has the chance to describe the process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts, covering both its own operations and its supply chain. Furthermore, it can outline a process for assessing and identifying its salient human rights issues. Finally, the company could establish a global system to address its salient human rights issues.