To realize our ambitions for safe and responsibly sourced products at good quality, we developed different policies. These policies include a sustainable approach towards people, environment and communities. You can view our policies below.
As a fast growing European retailer we recognise our responsibility to ensure that the cocoa used for chocolate products originate from responsible sources. Action envisions that in the near future all Action own brand chocolate products are self-evidently sustainably sourced through recognized and verified sources. Providing cocoa farmers with a better income, dignified working conditions and the possibility to invest into their communities. At the same time we want to ensure good farming practices which mitigate any harmful effects on soil and biodiversity.
Action commits to convert all our own brand chocolate products to Fairtrade cocoa before the end of 2023 including products that might already be certified to other third party sustainability initiatives. This allows us to have measurable insights to impact for cocoa farmers in West Africa based on our growing sourcing volumes.
All suppliers are required to comply with our Ethical Sourcing Policy. The key elements of our Ethical Sourcing Policy relate to the International Labour Organisation conventions, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Business Social Compliance Initiative Code of Conduct.
Action wants to sell more textiles and clothes in its stores with sustainably sourced cotton. That is why we developed a responsible cotton policy. This policy addresses direct suppliers and importers and includes commitments to critical topics, such as human rights, transparency, water management, pesticides and herbicides, just to mention a few. Action is also working on partnerships with strategic expert partners and relevant institutions. In 2020, Action sourced 76% of its cotton through the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI).
To strengthen our ambitions and development of purchasing increasingly more cotton from sustainable sources, Action proudly became a member of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) in 2018. BCI is the largest cotton sustainability program in the world, providing training and support for farmers worldwide to develop environmentally friendlier and socially and economically more sustainable farming methods. Better Cotton is not physically traceable to end products. However, BCI Farmers benefit from the demand for Better Cotton in equivalent volumes to those we ‘source’. Please find more information about BCI here.
Timber is a sensitive resource that affects the environment and communities. Action developed a timber policy that aims to achieve a higher level of transparency, sets goals and defines procedures to ensure that products imported directly or via importers fulfill or exceed the requirements of the EU timber regulations. With this policy, Action focuses on non-commercial goods, permanently available products in the categories household, stationery & hobby, and decoration, as well as cardboard transit packaging materials. Part of this policy is the agreement with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) we signed in 2017. In the long-term, Action envisions that all timber products procured by Action are self-evidently certified by a sustainable source such as FSC. By the end of 2020, 50% of all timber products sold at Action shall come from a third party certified origin.
Click here for our Responsible Timber Products Sourcing Policy
Chemicals may be one of the most critical product components. They pose a risk to workers in the production process, to the product safety for our customers and to the environment. At Action, we aim for responsibly produced products that are safe and fulfill all legal obligations. But we want even more: We want to go beyond legal compliance and support new technological, chemical and manufacturing processes when these are available. With its chemicals policy, Action provides an action plan for a safe and responsible approach with chemicals. Amongst those are for example measures that increase transparency in the production process. Furthermore, testing programs, partnerships with respective industry partners and plans to list and define restricted substances, are part of this policy. The policy explains Action’s expectations towards suppliers and puts suppliers clearly under responsibility.
Action aims at the reduction of negative social and environmental impacts of packaging by reducing the amount of packaging waste and assuring circularity of all packaging used within its supply chains. To achieve this, Action has introduced its Responsible Packaging Policy in 2021. This policy refers to all packaging within Action supply chains to which Action has a legal title, to product packaging and transport packaging at the Distribution Centre (DC) and on store level as well as for food packaging, where additional requirements of Food Contact Materials legislation apply. The policy states clear goals, measures, and standard criteria for packaging, one of these being the clear commitment to 100% recyclable packaging for products sourced through Direct Import, wholesalers, and our Private Label products by 2025.