In 2021, the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) was enacted in Germany. It requires companies to assess their supply chains for human rights and environmental risk factors and to identify violations. The LkSG applies to companies with at least 1,000 employees.
At Seeberger, we believe that companies should take responsibility for their supply chain regardless of their size or the legal requirements.
Our Sustainability Guidelines have been an integral part of our purchasing terms and conditions since 2012. We verify compliance through a structured supplier monitoring process consisting of several coordinated components. This allows us to identify risks early on, continuously improve processes, and demonstrably fulfill our due diligence obligations.
Since 2025, our Supplier and Business Partner Code of Conduct has complemented these standards and sets out our binding expectations regarding human rights, environmental and social standards, and ethical business practices throughout the supply chain—as the foundation for long-term, fair partnerships.
Since 2026, we have further reaffirmed this responsibility in our statement of principles. In it, we commit to respecting human rights and environmental standards throughout our supply chain and outline how we fulfill this responsibility in practice.
Binding contractual element for all Seeberger suppliers.
The transparency analysis * evaluates, on a tiered basis, where we source our products and how far back we can trace them. The results are incorporated into the risk analysis.
Evaluation of generic data sources for social and ecological risks in Seeberger supplier countries and regions.
Digitised questionnaires* for self-reporting by suppliers. They have long been used to develop an individual sustainability index for suppliers. These results are also fed into the risk analysis.
Purchasing trips, face-to-face contact at trade shows, during visits to Ulm, or at conferences. During on-site visits, the information provided in the supplier questionnaires is verified on a random basis using checklists*.
For over 70 years, we’ve been going on source country visits to our partners, who grow nuts, fruits and coffee of the best quality for us. From Canada to California, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Nicaragua, to Portugal, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Slovenia, Turkey and Vietnam. We travel all over the world.
Since 2012, we’ve had Sustainability Guidelines that are an integral part of our Conditions of Purchase.
Since 2016, we have been conducting regular surveys of our suppliers and continuously refining our questionnaire. This allows us to gain insights into the social and environmental impacts of their operations.
Since 2021, we have been developing our transparency analyses to systematically assess our procurement practices. In 2022, we gained our first insights into the levels of transparency in our Retail and Professional business units.
Since 2022, we have been placing greater emphasis on potential risks related to working conditions, environmental protection, and human rights in the countries of origin. As soon as we identify any risks, we take further steps to investigate and assess them more closely.
