The foundations of our responsibility

HARIBO’s corporate responsibility is built on internal structures, external support and dialogue with our stakeholders.

Laptop with a large red Goldbear on a table in an office
Laptop with a large red Goldbear on a table in an office

Our model for corporate responsibility

Our leading position in the gummies and licorice market goes hand in hand with responsibility. At HARIBO, we talk about corporate responsibility (CR). We present its essential aspects in a model of our responsibilities. The HARIBO model for corporate responsibility is based on four key areas:

Our employees are the key to our success. Good, future-proof jobs have been the very basis of HARIBO since 1920, which is why we focus on aspects such as training and development. Society: for us, society is more than just donating to a good cause. It also forms the environment of our most important stakeholders, which is where we operate as a company. Society is therefore directly relevant to our core business. Our responsibility for the environment is specifically linked to our production processes. Our overriding goal is to keep our ecological footprint as small as possible. Our responsibility is based on high-quality, safe products, with a focus on quality, transparent information and open dialogue with our consumers.

Corresponding structures and processes help us to assess key questions: Where do we stand with regard to our own demands? In what areas do we still have room for improvement? What developments or ideas should we include in our planning?

Our long-term goal

Young and old alike have loved HARIBO products for generations. This is at the heart of our responsibility – something that we, as a family-owned company, have stood for for a century. The basis of our corporate responsibility strategy is therefore that we want to guarantee, by acting responsibly, that consumers all over the world continue to choose our products happily and with a clear conscience in the second century of HARIBO.

We can only benefit if our responsible behaviour is mirrored by third parties. External evaluations can provide reliable indications of the areas in which our company can increase its involvement. To ensure we meet our own standards of ethical business practices, we follow the corresponding evaluations. In 2015, HARIBO decided to undergo a comprehensive independent audit – and joined the global audit initiative Sedex. The Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) standard is one of the most comprehensive audit concepts available and covers four central areas (known as pillars):

  • Labour standards
  • Business ethic standards
  • Health and safety standards
  • Environmental standards

With the exception of two of our sites, all HARIBO production facilities have now been audited, some of them for the second time (re-auditing). The HARIBO Group will be completely covered by the SMETA program by 2024.

SMETA is also one of the cornerstones of HARIBO’s supplier code of conduct.

Service and dialogue

Extraordinary satisfaction with our products is particularly important to us, which is why HARIBO maintains dialogue directly with its consumers – via our digital communication channels and our company’s own service departments. Questions, ideas, feedback on individual products, and suggestions for improvement are always welcome, which, of course, also applies to issues regarding our corporate responsibility.