Douwe Egberts

Is Douwe Egberts an ethical coffee brand?

Founded in 1753 in the Netherlands Douwe Egberts is an instant coffee brand owned by JAB Holding Company. Unfortunately, Douwe Egberts receives a low score on The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Coffee Ratings Table and as a result, cannot be classed as an ethical brand. If Douwe Egberts were to make some important improvements to its brand, it could apply for Ethical Accreditation. This would allow The Good Shopping Guide the opportunity to provide Douwe Egberts with a detailed assessment and recommendations on how to meet our minimum ethical benchmark.

You can see how Douwe Egberts ranks against other brands on the Ethical Coffee Ratings Table. This table can help you to learn more about the criteria that needs to be met for a brand to be classed as ethical.

What does Douwe Egberts receive a top score for?

Douwe Egberts receives a top score from The Good Shopping Guide for its Environmental Report. It has a dedicated sustainability page on its website which discusses how it is committed to making its brand more sustainable. Douwe Egbert’s website claims that by 2013, 25% of the coffee it bought was UTZ Certified. Additionally, JDE Peets who is a direct parent of Douwe Egberts shares its sustainability programme on its website. This page shows the brand’s future sustainability targets.

Is Douwe Egberts produce Fairtrade coffee?

Douwe Egberts does not receive a high enough score for our Organic and Fairtrade categories. For a brand to receive a top rating in the Fairtrade category, it must have Fairtrade certification.

Unfortunately, Douwe Egberts does not produce any Fairtrade or Organic coffee products and therefore receives a bottom score in these categories.

What does Douwe Egberts receive a bottom score for?

Douwe Egberts has been given a bottom score from The Good Shopping Guide for Public Record Criticisms. A recent article in The Guardian discusses how the largest food brands in the UK are failing to address palm oil deforestation. The article shares the WWF Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard, a system where a company’s performance in reducing palm oil deforestation is evaluated. Within the table, Jacob Douwe Egberts was shown to have made the least amount of progress.

What can Douwe Egberts do to improve its score?

Douwe Egberts’ score on the Ethical Coffee Ratings Table is the result of The Good Shopping Guide’s calculation of multiple ethical criteria. For Douwe Egberts to meet our minimum ethical benchmark and to see its place on our table rise, it has some work to do. This includes working on its Fairtrade and Organic ratings.

If Douwe Egberts were to work on its bottom ratings, it could apply for Ethical Accreditation. If it did this, The Good Shopping Guide would have increased faith in the brand and Douwe  Egberts could see itself becoming one of the top brands within the Ethical Coffee sector.

Do you manage or own an ethical coffee company? Perhaps you roast, grow, sell, or market beans or grinds from a single origin, or you have a strict policy requiring suppliers to be traced? Maybe you exclusively use organic or Fairtrade beans, and you genuinely care about serving high-quality coffee at every point in the supply chain. To start the process, contact us or complete our brief initial assessment form.