We leverage our scale to make a positive contribution on a global level, working with thousands of local communities and suppliers, and hundreds of partners.

Sourcing Responsibly

We source our products from all around the world. Our priority is to ensure we partner with suppliers who meet our high standards of food safety and quality, ethical trade, animal welfare and sustainability. Our global supply chain integrity requirements ensure that we work only with suppliers who share our values. Our code of business conduct (CBC) outlines what we expect of all of our partners. Read it online on our policies page.

Animal welfare

The welfare of farm animals is important to Compass, and is a key element of our approach to responsible sourcing. We continue to collaborate with partners such as Compassion in World Farming, Humane Society International and The Humane League to help us drive forward improvements in animal welfare practices.  All of our operations around the world are aiming to source 100% cage-free shell eggs and liquid egg products by 2025. In 2019, we signed the 2026 European Chicken Commitment for 100% of the chicken meat we source for Europe, following a similar commitment by our US business in 2016.

Deforestation

We know that sourcing specific food products, such as beef or soy from the Amazon biome or palm oil, can lead to deforestation and desertification. We are committed to preventing this and actively seek to reduce our sourcing of products from the Amazon biome region such as soy or beef.  Our goal is for the palm oil used to prepare food in our kitchens to be 100% certified sustainable from physical sources by 2022. We are active members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and the Round Table for Responsible Soy (RTRS).

Fish and Seafood

We want to play our part in improving the health of the oceans and are buying more and more responsibly sourced fish. Our global commitment is to buy 50% certified sustainable fish and seafood by 2020.

Ethical Trade

Fair trade is about paying a fair price. This enables farmers and their workers in developing countries to combat poverty and enjoy secure and sustainable livelihoods. We purchase certified Fairtrade products including coffee, tea and chocolate in many of our countries.

Supporting our suppliers

We are working to improve supply chain transparency across our business through the education and training of our procurement teams.

Enriching Local Communities

It is important for us to give back to the local communities in which we operate. We do this by partnering charities and getting involved with projects and initiatives that benefit the local area.

Collaborating for Big Change

No single country, business or organisation alone can tackle the serious challenges facing our world today. That is why partnerships are so important and are recognised as a Sustainable Development Goal in their own right. As the biggest player in our industry, we have the expertise to help shape positive change on food focused issues. We recognise the vital importance of working together with our clients, suppliers and other stakeholders to find solutions to these challenges.

As a global business, we recognise the critical importance of working in partnership with our clients, suppliers and other  stakeholders to improve the positive contribution that we can make to help address some of the biggest issues facing all of us and the planet. Whether it is tackling hunger by donating surplus food through charities like FareShare, developing our people to fulfill their potential or sourcing more sustainable products through not-for profit trade associations, we could not achieve our goals without the support of our clients and suppliers, and the many excellent external organisations with whom we work.

As the biggest player in our industry we have the ability and expertise to help shape positive change on food focused issues. One example is the Global Coalition for Animal Welfare (GCAW) which we founded with seven other major companies including Unilever and Nestlé. We work together to improve animal welfare standards at scale and to meet consumer demand for food products from animals reared in systems that promote good welfare.