RESPONSIBILITY

"Camellia values its neighbours and strives to partner and engage with local communities on a variety of levels"

Graham Mclean, Agricultural Director

Camellia operates in diverse communities - we consider it our duty to take an active role in supporting their unique ecology, heritage, culture, infrastructures and economy. By respecting and developing our communities we ensure that they continue to grant us the license to trade in their environments.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

We address a variety of social issues that contribute to the creation of a sustainable society. Central to our initiatives is the ability to provide the opportunity for development for all.

We are committed not only to the ultimate welfare of our employees but also to the communities in which they live. This year we have been involved in the tea revitalization project in Malawi, solar projects in India and Kenya, and have embarked on major housing renewal projects in Malawi, Kenya and India.

SMALLHOLDERS

We seek to develop robust alliances with local smallholders.

We work with independent raw material suppliers in many of our operations, these ‘Small Holders’ form an important part of our community. We contribute to their livelihoods by ensuring that they, rather than local intermediaries, get the maximum return for their product. We seek to optimise local infrastructure by supporting roads, waterways, healthcare and education projects. Our aim is to deliver the best quality products to the market and help generate value for the community in which we operate.

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HEALTHCARE

We invest in projects which support our communities.

Our European and North-American businesses operate in a strong regulatory climate, and have a good health and safety culture and record. We are conscious that achieving equivalent standards of health and safety management in our operations in some developing countries is a challenge. We approach this by investing in projects which support our communities.

The majority of our tea estates in India and Bangladesh have a hospital and a qualified doctor and our operations in both these countries have central Group owned hospitals. We provide medical services including where appropriate antiretroviral drugs in those communities where HIV/AIDs is a concern. We give medical support to schools that are either run locally or by our companies.

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EDUCATION

At Camellia we believe that the potential for development of each and every person within our community is fundamental.

We believe that education should be available for all - we cover the cost of running schools and creches in areas where we operate, either by building the schools for our communities or by supporting educational projects of the local governments in our communities.

Through a broad range of existing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, across the group, we address a variety of social issues, which contribute to the creation of a sustainable society. Central to our initiatives is the ability to provide the opportunity for development for all.

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EQUALITY

There is no doubt in our minds about equality - every person, irrespective of their origin, skin colour, religion or gender is equal.

We have consciously and continuously worked towards encouraging equality in management positions and throughout our operations. By providing schools and supporting education projects we ensure that our community is developing without discrimination.

The use of child labour is prohibited by all of our businesses. The minimum legal working age varies around the world and in some countries it is both the cultural norm and permissible for parents to involve their children in the productive process. We do not subscribe to this approach and therefore translating our policy into unambiguous local rules and enforcing these rules requires vigilance.

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