Yavuz Gıda: Milestone 1 Evaluation

Yavuz Gıda (Yavuz), one of Türkiye’s leading hazelnut exporters, joined FLA and the Agriculture Program in February 2019. Since joining, Yavuz has continuously improved its supply chain traceability, addressed farm-level non-compliances, and put efforts into remediation. This report details FLA’s evaluation of Yavuz’s governance at the headquarters level (Milestone 1). 

Highlights of Yavuz for Milestone 1 – Governance and Alignment include:

• Strong Senior Management Commitment: Yavuz has built a solid sustainability program since its FLA membership began. The company developed its own code and fully aligned it with Fair Labor CoC. Yavuz published its first sustainability report on its website not just detailing the activities of its sustainability team, but also publicly committing to implement workplace labor standards and prioritize human rights in its supply chain and setting medium-term and long-term goals for doing so. The Yavuz Group Management Plan, a roadmap of the company’s activities for the next two years, proves that senior management staff are committed to advance the program.
• Traceability and Risk Assessments: Yavuz published its sourcing profile disclosure on its website in 2023 per FLA requirements. According to the disclosure and the sustainability report, Yavuz achieved 60% traceability to its hazelnut farms in Türkiye as of 2022. The Yavuz Group Plan sets deadlines and targets to achieve 95%-100% traceability by the end of 2026.
• Collaborative Remediation: Yavuz has been an active participant in FLA’s Harvesting the Future (HTF) project since 2019. HTF is based on a collaborative model between buyers and suppliers, CSOs, and the Turkish government to work together and create a large-scale change in child protection and responsible recruitment in Türkiye through a multi-commodity, multi-company, and multi-geography approach. HTF also highlights the importance of labor intermediaries in commodity supply chains.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Stakeholder engagement and consultation with civil society have been the strongest points of Yavuz’s sustainability program. The company has worked with several partners to raise awareness on labor standards among supply chain actors, open summer schools targeting children at risk of child labor, improve responsible recruitment practices, and empower female workers. Yavuz partnered with CSOs and local authorities both in the harvest zone and in workers’ cities of origin and joined forces with other hazelnut supplier companies to create sustainable change. The company’s website provides updates on the sustainability team’s activities and partnerships with different actors.