nnocent drinks’ vision is to make natural, delicious food and drink that helps people and the planet to live well and die old. Mostly known for their fruit juices and smoothies, innocent is a global leader in sustainability and looks to use business as a force for good, as recognised by their certification as a B Corp. 

The innocent sustainability team recognised early on that engaging with their suppliers on sustainability was key to being a force for good and to building a strong and resilient business. Their main strategy for engaging their suppliers on sustainability is through the hero supplier programme, and in 2018, 3Keel were brought on board to support and develop it.

The hero supplier programme is innocent’s bespoke programme for engaging its suppliers on sustainability. Each supplier can earn a score between 0 dudes (the dude being the name of the innocent logo) for those at the start of their sustainability journey and up to 3 dudes for suppliers who are at the cutting edge. 

Its primary tool is the hero checklist – a questionnaire that has been co-developed between the innocent sustainability team and 3Keel to enable an evidence-based assessment of suppliers’ sustainability performance. The checklist is based primarily on the collection of qualitative information about the company, its policies, and practices. It scores suppliers in seven areas: