At the end of 2013, Paulig carried out an extensive survey* of how consumers, customers, suppliers of green coffee and services, and non-governmental organisations see Paulig's responsibility and what kind of expectations they have of this. Listening to stakeholders and engaging them in a dialogue are essential parts of work on our responsibilities. The survey addresses question such as how the various stakeholders view the composition of coffee-related responsibility, how responsible a company they consider Paulig, and what issues should be prioritised and developed.

"We got a great deal of tangible feedback. The results also confirmed that we are on the right track. All the stakeholders are interested in the transparency of the procurement chain and operations in the countries of origin. They want more concrete information from the places themselves, not just evidence based on certification. Points traditionally important to Paulig, quality and product safety, are also at the top of the list,” Corporate Responsibility Manager Leena Miettinen explains.

In particular, more communication on practical responsibility work in easily approachable form was desired. "It's important to find the channels and moments when our stakeholders are naturally thinking about matters of responsibility. These situations often arise when shopping or following the media, and this is why packaging and marketing, for instance, play an important part in communicating about corporate responsibility."

In the eyes of the general public, Paulig is also one of the most responsible Finnish companies. In a survey of reputation and responsibility, which was carried out by TNS Gallup in autumn 2013, Paulig placed second among food-industry companies fifth overall. "For responsibility, consumers' assessments are distinctly lower than for reputation, probably because of the complicated concept. We can do a lot for responsibility by communicating of it in more engaging ways that are accessible to consumers."

*The survey was carried out by PwC Finland in December 2013. It covered 714 respondents, 80% of whom were consumers. Two per cent of the respondents were not from Finland.