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TAYLORS SOURCING APPROACH

WORKING TO SUPPORT THE FUTURE OF QUALITY TEA AND COFFEE

For us, sourcing isn’t just about buying tea and coffee. It’s about supporting the future of the people who grow them, the landscapes they come from, and the communities that depend on them.

EXPLORE THE APPROACH YEAR IN NUMBERS

HOW WE SOURCE

Our commitment to long-term relationships

We source tea and coffee from farms and estates around the world, building long-term relationships with suppliers who share our values. Our teams work in partnership with suppliers to focus on quality, sustainability and long-term resilience, for everyone’s benefit. We call our way of buying and working with suppliers - and other partners - Taylors Sourcing Approach.

A hand is cupping some coffee cherries that have been plucked from the coffee plant.

How Taylors Sourcing Approach works

Like many agricultural commodities, tea and coffee face ever increasing challenges, from climate change to inequality and economic instability. TSA puts our values at the heart of how we buy to help build a resilient and thriving future for tea and coffee.

Launched in 2013, it sets out the principles we know are important – including long-term relationships, industry collaboration and investment in our value chain – and the sustainability themes we focus on: environmental stewardship, resilient communities and economic durability.

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Our three areas of focus

Evaryne, a TIST farmer, is holding two saplings. Behind her are large banana plants and other smaller trees.
01

SUPPORTING MORE RESILIENT COMMUNITIES

Helping the people behind our tea and coffee live in communities with access to basic needs, and conditions that are safe, just and fair.

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02

CARING FOR THE ENVIRONMENTS WE DEPEND ON

Reducing environmental impacts, protecting nature and supporting suppliers to adapt to the changing climate.

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03

Building economic durability and decent livelihoods

Improving livelihoods and supporting more resilient businesses across our supply chains.

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A YEAR IN NUMBERS

OUR TEA AND COFFEE SUPPLY CHAIN

See our full supplier list
17

countries provide our coffee beans

£1.4m

invested in resilience and sustainability programmes

27

buyer trips to origins

10

tea origins across the world

60+

projects supported across 19 countries

100%

transparency on the tea and coffee we use in our blends

All data from our 2025 financial year

Related Stories

Projects and programmes in our tea and coffee supply chain

We invest in initiatives that tackle social, environmental and economic challenges - from community projects directly with suppliers to large-scale programmes with NGOs and industry partners.

A TIST farmer holds a tree sapling, smiling proudly. He is standing in his seedling nursery, wearing a black polo shirt and beige trousers, smiling proudly.
Case Study

Celebrating ten years of TIST

Case Study

Strengthening participation in Assam’s tea communities

See all case studies

TAYLORS SOURCING APPROACH

Our values-led approach to sourcing tea and coffee

TSA brings together our values, long-term commitments and responsible sourcing practices – guiding how we work with suppliers and other partners to deliver quality, respect human rights and create positive impact across our supply chains.  Key elements include:

  • Shared risks and shared responsibilities: working alongside our suppliers to identify and address risks together. 
  • Multi-year supplier partnerships: through our long-term sourcing approach agreements, typically three years in length, we give suppliers greater certainty and stability. Through these agreements, and supporting annual review and plans, we outline our expectations and shared responsibilities when it comes to quality, sustainable pricing, and environmental and social ambitions. 
  • Value chain investment: through our Value Chain Investment programmes we support a wide range of projects and partnerships that address social and environmental challenges – from projects directly with suppliers to larger-scale partnerships with our peers and NGOs.  
  • Industry partnerships: we know that global challenges are driven by multiple factors, systemic in nature and can’t be solved by one organisation working on its own. We collaborate with other businesses, NGOs and expert organisations to gain knowledge, share experiences and learning, provide leverage and find solutions.
  • Certification as a baseline:  our core Yorkshire Tea and Taylors of Harrogate ranges carry at least one third-party certification. This provides the baseline standard of social and environmental conditions required of our suppliers, along with regular independent monitoring. 
  • Supplier segmentation: Taylors Sourcing Approach includes supplier segmentation, with most of our sourcing via our long-term agreements with our Strategic and Preferred suppliers. To give us flexibility and manage risk, we also have a category of tactical supplies. 

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Annual review Taylors impact

Our focus on

Environmental Stewardship

Tea and coffee growers are already experiencing the effects of a changing climate, and agriculture plays a significant role in global emissions.

Our approach focuses on working with suppliers to understand challenges and take practical action together. This includes:

  • Strengthening how we monitor environmental impact in our supply chain, working with our suppliers and others to measure carbon emissions as well as water and biodiversity risks.
  • Working with suppliers to identify the most relevant environmental priorities for their business.
  • Investing in and working with suppliers on programmes such as regenerative agriculture, tree planting, water stewardship and climate adaptation.
  • Partnering with expert organisations to build knowledge, tools and shared learning. 
Evaryne, a TIST farmer, is holding two saplings. Behind her are large banana plants and other smaller trees.

Our focus on

Resilient communities

We work to ensure that people in our supply chain communities can access basic needs and live in safe, fair conditions.

This means:

  • Taking a stakeholder-led approach and working with suppliers to understand risks and needs – including human rights, water and sanitation, nutrition, education and training, and gender equality. 
  • Using this assessment to develop supplier-specific action plans, focusing support where it’s most needed. 
  • Backing this with direct value chain investment, supporting a wide range of projects with our suppliers. 
  • Supporting wider collaboration through industry partnerships to increase reach and impact. 

Our focus on

Building Economic Durability

At the heart of Taylors Sourcing Approach is the belief that supply chains must work for everyone. This means supporting both resilient supplier businesses and improved livelihoods for farmers and workers.

This includes:

  • Multi-year Sourcing Approach Agreements, giving suppliers confidence to invest in their businesses. 
  • Working towards living wages and living incomes for workers and farmers in our supply chain. 
  • Investing in programmes that improve productivity, efficiency and livelihoods. 
  • Supporting quality improvements, helping suppliers achieve better returns. 

Building economic durability and decent livelihoods

At the heart of Taylors Sourcing Approach is the belief that supply chains must work for everyone. This means supporting both resilient supplier businesses and improved livelihoods for farmers and workers.

This includes:

  • Multi-year Sourcing Approach Agreements, giving suppliers confidence to invest in their businesses. 
  • Working towards living wages and living incomes for workers and farmers in our supply chain. 
  • Investing in programmes that improve productivity, efficiency and livelihoods. 
  • Supporting quality improvements, helping suppliers achieve better returns.
  • Embedding principles of responsible contracting in how we work with suppliers.