Sourcing and farming

Coles launched the $50 million Coles Nurture Fund in April 2015 to help Australian food and liquor producers innovate and grow.

Since then, we have awarded more than $33 million in financial support to farmers and producers, to support innovative projects and sustainable farming practices.

In FY23, Coles awarded $3.6 million in grants to support eight new projects, including a plan to develop a carbon neutral banana range, a system to divert packaged food waste from landfill and a new farrowing system to improve animal welfare standards in pork production.

More information on the Coles Nurture Fund can be found hereColes Nurture Fund, view website.

Established in 2014, the Coles Farm Program applies to suppliers of Coles Own Brand cage-free shell eggs, GRAZE beef and GRAZE  lamb, and our Dairy Direct Sourcing Model. Under the program, farmers are required to meet strict requirements in animal husbandry and adhere to relevant standards, such as the GRAZE Grass-fed Standard, the Egg Standards Australia Level 3 standard or Milk Purchase Agreements. The program is a combination of self-assessments and industry body/ privately organised audits. Where applicable, suppliers complete a self-assessment when joining the program, which is reviewed by the Coles Sustainable Sourcing team to confirm adherence to the program requirements. In addition to this, GRAZE suppliers complete a declaration form for each lot of animals sold in conjunction with the National Vendor Declaration protocol.

A key component of the Coles Farm Program is the Supplier Days where participants are invited to attend Coles-facilitated learning days where subject matter experts are invited to present on topics such as animal welfare, environments and production. 

We work with the RSPCA Australia through the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme to offer customers a range of higher welfare Coles Own Brand products including: indoor raised, and free-range chicken; indoor raised and free-range turkey; and free-range pork. We are proud to say that as of June 2023, Coles has the broadest range of RSPCA Approved products of any major Australian supermarket retailer.

The RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme has animal welfare standards that go beyond legislative requirements and are commercially achievable for pigs, meat chickens and turkeys and all farms participating in the Scheme are assessed at a minimum of twice per year by RSPCA Assessors.

As well as farm assessments, RSPCA Assessors also perform annual abattoir assessments to ensure the processing of meat chickens, turkeys and pigs meets the RSPCA’s Standards.

By working with the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme, we offer a range of higher welfare chicken, raised on farms that must meet their detailed animal welfare standards and provide an enriched environment for meat chickens to grow.

We were the first major Australian supermarket to launch a supermarket branded range of RSPCA Approved fresh chicken in 2014. RSPCA Approved chickens are provided with perches for perching and good quality litter for dust bathing, as well as lower stocking densities compared to conventional systems, so the birds have more room to move. Birds are encouraged to be more active through brighter lighting during the day, but also have periods of darkness that allow them to rest properly. Interesting objects are also provided for birds to peck at to help keep them entertained. A minimum of one pecking object for every 1,000 birds is provided as environmental enrichment.

In September 2018, we launched Coles Own Brand fresh free-range RSPCA Approved chicken in Victoria and New South Wales and expanded the range nationally in 2019.

All Coles Own Brand free-range RSPCA Approved fresh chicken come from farms where birds have access to enriched environments so they can forage and explore outdoors for a minimum of eight hours a day. They are provided with a barn for shelter, protection at night and are given the freedom to express their natural, innate behaviours with adequate space to move, perch and dust bathe. These birds are also raised without the use of antibiotics which is achieved through measures such as strict biosecurity controls and animal health management practices.

We were the first major Australian supermarket to launch RSPCA Approved turkey in 2014, with all of the Coles Own Brand fresh turkeys sold in Coles supermarkets (only available for the Christmas period) being sourced from RSPCA Approved farms.

Turkeys on RSPCA Approved farms have lower stocking densities compared to conventional systems, and better lighting systems to encourage activity and allow proper rest. Birds also have quality litter covering the floor to scratch and dust bathe (which helps clean and maintain their feathers) as well as perches and toys to keep them active and entertained. De-snooding, de-winging and toe trimming is not permitted under the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme.

Coles Own Brand free-range turkey sold in Coles supermarkets comes from birds raised on RSPCA Approved farms in the Hunter Valley and Central Coast regions in New South Wales. In addition to the above indoor provisions, these turkeys also have access from a suitable age to the outdoors to explore and forage during the day (weather permitting).

Coles was the first major supermarket in Australia to transition to cage-free across our Own Brand shell egg range in 2013.

All our Coles Own Brand shell eggs sold nationally remain cage-free today.

We have also achieved cage-free status for branded (proprietary) shell eggs in both Western Australia (in 2019) and Victoria (2022).

As at November 2023, 89% of all shell eggs (both Coles Own Brand and proprietary) sold were cage free and we are making progress to phase out all caged shell eggs in store by 2025.

The farms that produce these eggs are certified to Egg Standards Australia (ESA) Level 3 requirements which is audited by independent bodies. This means that Coles Own Brand shell eggs are from hens that are free to display their natural behaviours through access to nest boxes for nesting, perches for perching and litter for dust bathing. In addition, Coles Own Brand free-range shell eggs are from hens that are required to have easy access to an outdoor range during the day, shade from the sun and space to roam.

Further to this commitment, we have been transitioning our Coles Own Brand products containing egg ingredients to cage-free sources, with over 51% of products converted by end FY23².

¹ Does not include combi, enriched or furnished cages.

² Excludes seasonal products and egg ingredients <1% of recipe

In 2014, we launched Coles Own Brand sow-stall free fresh pork which was a first for a major Australian supermarket and in FY21 we completed converting all of our supermarket Coles Own Brand products with pork as an ingredient to sow-stall free.

Coles Own Brand fresh pork sold in Coles supermarkets is sow-stall free, Australian sourced and undergoes rigorous auditing by independent third-party auditors against the Australian Pork Industry Quality Assurance Program Customer Specifications for Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd (APIQ + CSC) Pork Standard. All Coles Own Brand fresh pork suppliers are also assessed to more stringent requirements developed by APIQ and Coles on areas such as husbandry practices, stocking densities, antibiotics, growth promotants and hormone use.

This means that all Coles Own Brand pork, ham and bacon sold in Coles supermarkets is sourced from farms that may only confine a sow to a mating station for insemination purposes for a maximum of 24 hours.

This means that sows in APIQ + CSC approved farms are not kept in small, single-pig stalls for long periods during their gestation and are free to move about in pens and socialise with other sows during their gestation.

Coles Own Brand free-range fresh pork is the only RSPCA Approved fresh pork stocked nationally by a major Australian supermarket. Pigs reared to RSPCA Standards and have space to move, forage, socialise and explore. Sows are not confined to sow stalls or farrowing crates, instead they have good quality bedding in a free farrowing environment which provides a comfortable area to rest and material to perform their natural nesting behaviours.

We also worked with the farm certification arm of Australian Pork Limited (APL) and suppliers on updating the breeding pig environmental enrichment requirement in the APIQ + CSC Standard.

To support adoption of environmental enrichment practices, Coles is working with industry to develop a range of support materials, that includes a fact sheet on enrichment application, written case studies, videos and training materials to demonstrate enrichment application methods.

This requirement, when implementation is completed in 2024, will ensure breeding pigs have access to environmental enrichment that enables natural behaviours and improves welfare outcomes.

All Coles Own Brand lamb is Australian grown.

In January 2020, we launched Coles Own Brand GRAZE fresh lamb across selected stores nationally. In FY23, lambs sourced under the Graze program are Tasmanian grown, grass-fed, are free to roam on open pastures and raised without the use of antibiotics.

All Coles Own Brand fresh beef sold in Coles supermarkets has been Australian sourced and with no added hormones since 2011. By not adding hormones, the cattle grow and mature more naturally.

Coles sources cattle from both grain-fed, grass-fed and grass/grain combination systems. Some grain-fed cattle are sourced from feedlots that are accredited and independently audited to the National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme.

GRAZE our grass-fed beef speciality range, is sourced from Australian farmers in partnership with Coles. Cattle raised under the GRAZE program are Australian grown, grass-fed, and are free to roam on open pastures.

In 2019, we began direct sourcing Coles Own Brand fresh white milk in Victoria and the south coast of New South Wales. Since then, we have continued to expand our milk supply chain to purchase fresh milk from 101 dairy farms across Victoria, Southern and Central New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.

Coles continued to offer farmers the option of either one, two or three-year agreements, providing them with pricing transparency and income certainty. Simultaneously, this has supported Coles in securing an ongoing supply of fresh milk for customers.

Through the Coles Sustainable Dairy Development Group (CSDDG), we invest in sustainability projects in consultation with dairy farmers.

In FY23, these included energy assessments and workshops, an on-farm field day to share findings from a two-year trial to evaluate heat stress in cows and vat monitors to optimise milk quality and milk collection efficiencies.

To date, the CSDDG has invested more than $3.78 million, in on-farm initiatives, including farmer education and training, and improving herd health and milk quality.

We understand the responsible use of antibiotics in agriculture is an important issue for animal and human health. Coles’ position on antibiotics is one of responsible use, where we follow the guidance of the Five R’s and Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) Framework as detailed by the Animal Health Australia report on Antimicrobial Stewardship in Australian Livestock Industries.

Since 2014, we have worked on supplier programs that incorporate herd health plans, biosecurity measures and alternatives such as probiotics and vaccinations to prevent the need for antibiotic treatment. Through our work with the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme and the Australian Pork Industry Quality Assurance (APIQ+CSC) program, Coles requires all Coles Own Brand fresh chicken, pork and turkey suppliers to avoid the prophylactic use of antibiotics to suppress sub-clinical diseases wherever possible.

The RSPCA Standards for meat chickens and turkeys require that any use of antibiotics is included as part of the farm’s veterinary health plan and that the RSPCA is notified of any prophylactic treatment. Producers are also required to have an antimicrobial stewardship plan. For RSPCA Approved free-range pork, any use of antibiotics must be detailed in the producer’s veterinary health plan, which must be reviewed each year in consultation with the attending veterinarian.

Coles is also a member of the Animal Industries’ Antimicrobial Stewardship Stakeholder Group which aims to promote antimicrobial stewardship within agriculture and address issues relating to antimicrobial resistance. This group includes the Office of the Australian Chief Veterinary Officer, state departments of primary industry, international experts in antimicrobial stewardship, and Australian livestock industry representatives from beef, dairy, eggs, pork and chicken meat.

Our program does not allow the use of antibiotics for growth promotion outcomes.

Through preventative measures and good stewardship, we aim to ensure antibiotics are only used when required to treat illness, which will in turn help mitigate resistance.

The RSPCA Standards for meat chickens and turkeys require that any use of antibiotics is included as part of the farm’s veterinary health plan and that the RSPCA is notified of any prophylactic treatment. Producers are also required to have an antimicrobial stewardship plan. For RSPCA Approved free-range pork, any use of antibiotics must be detailed in the producer’s veterinary health plan, which must be reviewed each year in consultation with the attending veterinarian.

Coles is also a member of the Animal Industries’ Antimicrobial Stewardship Stakeholder Group which aims to promote antimicrobial stewardship within agriculture and address issues relating to antimicrobial resistance. This group includes the Office of the Australian Chief Veterinary Officer, state departments of primary industry, international experts in antimicrobial stewardship, and Australian livestock industry representatives from beef, dairy, eggs, pork and chicken meat.

While palm oil is used in many products around the world, unsustainable farming practices in some countries where oil palms are grown can negatively impact the environment, wildlife and local communities. Coles is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), as well as the Retailers Palm Oil Group (RPOG)¹. All Coles Own Brand food and drink products that contain palm oil, sold in Coles supermarkets, support the production of sustainable palm oil. This means that within the food and drink supply chain for Coles Own Brand products sold in Coles supermarkets, Coles requires  suppliers using palm oil to:

• obtain RSPO Supply Chain Certification for its own supply chain; or
• be able to demonstrate RSPO Certification for each palm oil ingredient that is incorporated into the Coles Own Brand product.

Where palm oil is present in our food and drink products, it is labelled accordingly. Our Palm Oil Policy requires us to identify palm oil specifically instead of using the common term ‘blended vegetable oils’.

We are progressively converting Coles Own Brand non-food products² and more than 90% of these products contain or support the production of sustainable palm oil.

As we work toward transitioning the remaining 10% of non-food products, we are offsetting our impact by purchasing RSPO ‘book and claim’ credits³, which support smallholder palm oil farmers. Smallholder palm oil farmers are small to medium local producers of sustainable palm oil, who operate independently from large-scale plantations and mills. Supporting smallholder farmers not only directly supports local villages and communities, but incentivises environmental protection and restoration initiatives operated by smallholder groups⁴.

¹ Further information on the Retailers’ Palm Oil Group is available at https://www.rpog.org/.

² Based on the 2022 Annual Communication of Progress (ACOP) reporting period. The Annual Communication of Progress (ACOP) are reports submitted by RSPO members to gauge their progress towards 100% RSPO Certified Sustainable Palm Oil.

³ An RSPO credit is proof that one tonne of certified palm oil was produced by an RSPO-certified company or independent producer, and has entered the global palm oil supply chain. By purchasing credits, buyers encourage the production of certified sustainable palm oil.

⁴ For more information on the RSPO smallholder support fund visit: https://rspo.org/as-a-smallholder/support-fund/.

We use independent certification or verification programs such as Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, Cocoa Horizons and Bonsucro, when sourcing tea, coffee, cocoa and sugar. This gives customers confidence that these commodities have been sourced ethically and more sustainably and help grow the market for independently certified or verified products.

All tea, coffee and cocoa used in Coles Own Brand products, sold in Coles Supermarkets, are required to be independently certified or verified.

From January 2023, all but two of Coles Own Brand products that contain tea, coffee and cocoa have been produced using independently certified/verified ingredients from Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance or Cocoa Horizons programs.

Coles supports the Bonsucro program for the sustainable production of sugar cane. Our Coles Brand white, brown, raw and caster sugar and soft icing mixture are sourced in Australia from our Bonsucro-certified supplier.

The production of all Coles Own Brand timber, pulp and paper products sources material from forest plantations independently certified to the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) certification schemes, or from post-consumer recycled fibre.

This excludes timber, pulp or paper used as a component of food and drink products, cellulose, viscose and in product packaging. In addition, Coles offers a 100% recycled content and FSC® Certified paper shopping bag. Five of our CUB baby wipe products are also FSC Certified, and biodegradable. We will continue to support sustainably managed forests and provide information to customers through the application of the relevant logos on our product packaging.

Soy sourced for livestock feed in Australia largely originates from South America and has been associated with deforestation.

In FY23, we engaged with industry and our suppliers to understand the impacts and challenges associated with soy supply chains and began developing a roadmap and policy to progressively address the deforestation risks within livestock feed supply chains.

For farmed (aquaculture) seafood Coles Own Brand products must be certified¹ by:

• Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC);
• Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP); or
• GLOBALG.A.P.

Farmed seafood products assessed against the ASC Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard carry the ASC logo. Farmed seafood products assessed against BAP or GLOBALG.A.P carry the Coles' Responsibly Sourced Seafood (RSS) logo.

The ASC or Coles Responsibly Sourced seafood logo indicates that the product has come from an independently certified farm. More information on these standards can be found on their respective websites.

¹ Under the Coles Responsibly Sourced Seafood Program, Australian and New Zealand farmed bivalves are deemed responsibly sourced due to the low environmental impact of mollusc aquaculture, and are not required to be certified to a third party standard.

For wild-caught seafood Coles Own Brand products must be:

• Certified to the  Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Standards; or
• Independently assessed as meeting the Coles Wild Seafood Assessment Framework (Assessment Framework).

Wild-caught seafood products that carry the MSC logo are:

• sourced from fisheries that are assessed and certified by independent, third parties against the MSC Fisheries Standard; and
• assessed against the MSC Chain of Custody Standard to ensure that these products are from MSC certified fisheries and are traceable and separated from non-certified products.

More about the MSC can be found on its FAQ page.

In March 2024, Coles was awarded MSC Best Sustainable Seafood Supermarket at the Marine Stewardship Council and Aquaculture Stewardship Council's 'Sustainable Seafood Awards Australia'. The award recognised Coles for making the most significant commitment to MSC certified sustainable seafood of any Australian retailer during 2023.

Coles’ Assessment Framework was developed in collaboration with MRAG Asia Pacific (MRAG AP), an independent fisheries and aquatic resource consulting company. The program builds on the results of supply risk assessments for Coles Own Brand and deli seafood products carried out by WWF-Australia during 2011-2015.

The criteria for the assessment are based on the latest version of the MSC Fisheries Standard (Version 2.01) and will be updated in line with the future versions of the Fishery Standard.

In partnership with fisheries management authorities, all assessments are reviewed on an annual basis to reflect the most up-to-date knowledge. This annual review helps Coles to improve fisheries management and sustainability over time.

The Assessment Framework is structured around three core principles,

Principle 1: Sustainable target fish stocks: A fishery must be conducted in a manner that does not lead to over-fishing or depletion of the exploited populations and, for those populations that are depleted, the fishery must be conducted in a manner that demonstrably leads to their recovery.

Principle 2: Environmental impact of fishing: Fishing operations should allow for the maintenance of the structure, productivity, function and diversity of the ecosystem (including habitat and associated dependent and ecologically related species) on which the fishery depends.

Principle 3: Effective management: The fishery is subject to an effective management system that respects local, national and international laws and standards and incorporates institutional and operational frameworks that require use of the resource to be responsible and sustainable.

Wild-caught seafood products assessed against the Coles Assessment Framework are eligible to carry the Coles' Responsibly Sourced Seafood logo.

For more information, please contact responsiblesourcing@coles.com.au

Responsibly sourced tuna

Tuna is among the world’s most popular fish and therefore among the most commercially valuable. With the high demand for tuna, many stocks are exploited to full capacity or overfished¹. Coles Own Brand canned Skipjack and Yellowfin tuna are responsibly sourced which means the following conditions are met:

• Fish stocks: The fish stock where Coles Own Brand Skipjack and Yellowfin tuna are caught have been independently assessed as part of our Coles Responsibly Sourced Seafood Program.
• Traceability: Coles Own Brand Skipjack and Yellowfin canned tuna can be traced back to the approved fishing boat that caught the tuna as well as the boat that transported it to the cannery.

Industry engagement

We acknowledge the potential impacts seafood production can have on the environment, and work collaboratively with our suppliers, NGOs, certification bodies and subject matter experts to look for opportunities to further improve our Coles Responsibly Sourced Seafood Program based on latest science and information.

Human Rights

We acknowledge that protecting human rights in supply chains is a global issue and we understand the important role we have in safeguarding human rights within our complex supply chains. Detailed information regarding our Ethical Sourcing Program is available here.

¹ https://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/tuna <Accessed 8 March 2023>