Our sustainable procurement

In addition to milk, the DMK Group procures and processes other materials and services. We work closely not only with our farmers, but also with more than 3,000 active suppliers and service providers, over 99% of whom are from Germany or the EU.

They provide us with ingredients and packaging, for example.

Corporate Procurement or Strategic Purchasing is responsible for these suppliers together with the Purchase-to-Pay team, i.e. Operational Purchasing.

In order to ensure that our cooperation with our suppliers is sustainable, we integrated sustainability into our procurement process through contractual obligations several years ago.With the publication of our Supplier Code of Conduct 2020, we have further developed and codified our requirements for sustainable business practices in our supply chain.

With this latest update, we have also ensured that all requirements of the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act are reflected in our Code. They also form the common basis for our sustainable procurement.

We also offer our suppliers and service providers training on our Supplier Code of Conduct.

We have been conducting supply chain risk analyses for several years to address potential human rights and environmental risks and violations in our supply chains. Here, too, we are constantly evolving, for example by systematizing our approach through the addition of an IT tool and the establishment of processes.

• Potential risks are identified using a variety of country and product group indices.
• If we identify (high) risks, we take appropriate preventive measures, such as training suppliers and buyers.
• If we identify non-compliance, we take targeted corrective action.

In this context, we would like to draw your attention to our Policy Statement on Human Rights. It describes how we fulfill our due diligence obligations throughout the DMK Group, the risks we have identified through our risk analysis, and the human rights and environmental expectations we have of our employees, suppliers, and service providers.

We have also established a whistleblower system, which allows, among other things, for the reporting of information about human rights and/or environmental risks or violations in our operations or supply chain.

In addition, we only source strategically important basic raw materials in combination with sustainability certification. These include palm (kernel) oil, coffee and cocoa.