Supplier Guiding Principles

Our Supplier Guiding Principles (SGPs) apply to our upstream supply chain and clearly define both our minimum requirements, as well as our aspirational destinations, for the conduct and sustainable operation of our supplier network.

Our SGPs were developed using industry best practices and internationally recognized standards, including the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the International Bill of Human Rights, and the principles set forth in the International Labor Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

These principles continue to be included in our standard contract language and are publicly available in 26 languages through our supplier hub. In 2022, supplier compliance with the SGPs was implemented as a key performance indicator for the Kraft Heinz global procurement team.

Risk Assessment and Due Diligence

Our global supply chain touches the lives of communities around the world. It is our responsibility to make sure our operations have a positive impact. We take a risk-based approach to due diligence aligned with the United Nations Guiding Principles. This model complements our Supplier Guiding Principles and defines how and when risk will be monitored, assessed, and managed. Compliance with our Supplier Guiding Principles – the basis of our ESG due diligence and ESG audit program – is a contractual obligation for Kraft Heinz suppliers globally.

Kraft Heinz is a member of Sedex and EcoVadis in order to align our supplier ESG requirements with industry standards and recognize existing supplier efforts to manage ESG risks. We are actively developing our Responsible Sourcing program in a way that harmonizes supplier requirements and reduces administrative burdens on our suppliers – allowing our teams to focus resources on driving ESG improvements in areas that need it most.

Kraft Heinz began a worldwide supplier roll out of Sedex and EcoVadis in 2021 and continues to make good progress in implementing this best practice. This helps us elevate standard practices across our supply base and track their progress through provided performance data.

In 2022, we further improved our approach to data-driven sustainability risk management. To navigate this landscape effectively and ensure a proactive approach to risk assessment management, we expanded our partnership with ELEVATE, now known as LRQA, due to their market-leading expertise in ESG, sustainability, and supply chain services.

A key outcome of this work was a global ESG risk assessment which identified the 10 most critical risks across the Kraft Heinz supply chain. These findings help guide our strategy, influence decision making, and inform our Due Diligence program. This program helps us monitor our supply chain for potential human rights risks and non-compliances with the help of Sedex (direct suppliers) and EcoVadis (indirect suppliers) and take decisive action in remediating issues as they occur.

* ELEVATE was acquired by LRQA in April 2022

Supplier Diversity Program

The Kraft Heinz Supplier Diversity program embeds our company Values into our supply base to better reflect the communities that we serve. Launched last year and starting at first in the U.S., the program is intended to play a critical role in addressing systemic barriers which may stand between under-represented groups and the opportunity to be a supplier to Kraft Heinz. We are committed to the fair inclusion of diverse suppliers in procurement activities because we believe this promotes diversity of thought and innovation, opens doors, creates partnerships that fuel the economy, and will unlock strategic value for our business.

We strive to partner with diverse suppliers that are at least 51 percent owned, operated, and managed by women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, persons with disabilities, veterans, and other recognized minorities, with a goal of tripling spend with such organizations by 2025. The company will continue to partner with small businesses and those suppliers certified by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s HUBZone program, which fuels small business growth in historically underutilized business zones. To accelerate and amplify the impact of the Supplier Diversity Program, we also founded an internal community of Supplier Diversity Representatives across our North American procurement teams.

In 2022, we expanded our external outreach in the U.S. by joining the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC).

WBENC is a leading non-profit organization dedicated to helping women-owned businesses thrive. Our engagements with WBENC help us expand opportunities for women entrepreneurs within our value chain while also connecting with new prospective supply chain partners. The NMSDC is the longest-operating business growth engine for the broadest group of systematically excluded communities of color (Asian-Indian, Asian-Pacific, Black, Hispanic, and Native American) and as a member, we are highly committed to contributing to their mission to advance economic equity for minority businesses. As the Supplier Diversity Program matures, we plan to expand this outreach across other recognized minority groups.