Corporate Social Responsibility
Responsible business is built on its people. At Chaucer Foods our people are recruited not only for their skills and expertise, but also for the qualities they bring to our company culture, including integrity, fairness and high standards of ethical conduct.
We are proud to have evolved a company that embraces high standards and responsible conduct, as this shapes the way we do business and engage with our employees, customers, growers and suppliers, stakeholders and the wider communities in which our operations have an impact.

With long established relationships, we’re good at what we do, and continually get better by investing in our production technologies, our supply chain, our people and our communities. All of this allows us to ensure our customers receive the very best in sustainable, fresh, high quality produce that’s delivered on time, every time. We stand today as an acknowledged expert and category leader.

Our CSR activities are something we are genuinely committed to and extremely proud of. It is an area where we enjoy a long term aspiration to be truly the best in class.

Growers and suppliers

  • Our focus on responsible business extends to the people with whom we work with, which means we choose growers and suppliers with values that align with ours.
  • We pay a fair price to growers and will reward loyalty and exceptional performance.
  • We can proudly demonstrate that all core fruit we supply to our customers is fully traceable from the farm to our factory.
  • We carry out biennial audits of ingredients suppliers to ensure they meet or exceed standards set by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). In addition, we are developing ethical business audits to ETI base code standards
  • We place high importance on instant information access and use Muddy Boots supply chain software across our supply base to ensure quality, traceability and compliance.
  • We source sustainable products wherever appropriate, including palm oil that is certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which guarantees the oil has been produced in line with strict social and environmental criteria.
  • Pesticide management – We work closely with all our suppliers across the globe to ensure that Chaucer has the best source of information on good agricultural practice, to raise awareness of the issue of pesticide residues and to encourage and assist the food industry to deliver existing pesticide residue minimization initiatives.
  • We ensure availability of crops throughout the seasons, thanks to our global network of factories and suppliers.
  • Our long-term Growing Programmes enable us to maintain a close and sustainable relationship with growers in our core strawberry regions, to improve farming methods including the use of pesticides, ensure product quality, and support growers’ development and earning potential.

Customers

We have an open and honest approach to our customers. One of the ways we can have a positive impact on the environment and on the communities in which we operate is by helping customers to achieve their objectives.

We offer support in a variety of areas of corporate responsibility. If you have an idea about how we could help you to achieve yours, please get in touch.

Employees

We strive to ensure every employee feels part of the Chaucer family and encourage progression and development in all our staff

Chaucer Foods Group is a Sedex AB member, and all our factories are a B member. We maintain high standards of ethical and responsible business performance as business. This includes striving to ensure all our employees are treated with respect, fairness and equality of opportunity.

Policies are in place across all our sites to support employees and ensure responsible treatment in the workplace, together with procedures for seeking and taking corrective action in the event of events or conduct that falls below the standards we expect.

Local community

We recognize the importance of supporting the communities in which we operate, and believe we have a valuable and responsible role to play in community life whilst creating longer term relationships.

As a major subsidiary of a Japanese listed company, we are compliant with J-Sox, or the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, a scheme which aims to enhance public confidence in a business’s financial conduct by requiring control frameworks to support internal and external activities.

Our policies include the following: