SME Sustainability Story: yourharvest
- dominiquelizarbe
- Nov 4
- 4 min read
From the hazelnut fields across the world to conscious consumers in Europe, yourharvest's story is one of connection and responsibility. With a clear commitment to responsible sourcing and long-term collaboration, the company demonstrates how small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can drive meaningful change in complex supply chains. What began as a simple procurement operation has grown into a movement for fair working conditions, ecological farming, and child protection.
Who is yourharvest?
Yourharvest is a trusted procurement partner for customized, plant-based food products sourced from around the world. Their extensive global network connects sustainability-minded European customers with organic and responsibly producing partners in the countries of origin. By bridging these worlds, yourharvest ensures that sustainable products reach the market while fostering long-term, ethical relationships across their entire supply chain.
A supply chain rooted in responsibility
Sustainability is a deeply layered topic, one that requires focus, prioritization, and a clear understanding of where the greatest risks and impacts lie. More than ten years ago, a risk analysis revealed significant concerns about child labour in the hazelnut supply chain. Rather than looking away, yourharvest took decisive action and launched the Happy Hazelnut project together with long-standing partners and customers.
This initiative promotes ecological hazelnut farming and combats child labour through a combination of fair pay, improved living conditions, and education opportunities. Thanks to this project, yourharvest has been able to:
Pay fair wages to 130 farmers and 500 harvest workers
Provide decent accommodation with sanitary facilities to improve health and safety
Prevent child labour by establishing a supervised summer school for around 30 children of harvest workers
Through Happy Hazelnut, yourharvest demonstrates that responsible sourcing can go hand in hand with social impact and transparency.
To them, the essence of the project is about:
Better living conditions
Fair wages for farmers and harvest workers
Organic farming of hazelnuts
The prevention of child labour
However, the project not only helps the workers and children, but it also brings about significant advantages for the SME. It strengthens relationships and trust with suppliers through regular, on-the-ground collaboration and provides an established programme that meets the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSRDDD) requirements, which yourharvest can offer to customers. Moreover, the collaboration with their customers allows them to agree on minimum quantities and gain economic security.
Despite the project's success, recent years have also brought challenges such as inflation, rising cocoa prices that reduce chocolate production, and a general reluctance among some customers to pay for sustainable products, even amid stricter supply chain regulations such as the Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz (LkSG) and CSRDDD. Yet yourharvest remains steadfast in its mission, proving that sustainability requires both perseverance and partnership.
Why yourharvest joined the UN Global Compact
The SME joined the UN Global Compact to structure and strengthen its sustainability work around the Ten Principles of responsible business. These principles provide clear guidance on human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption. All essential areas for any business looking to manage complex global supply chains responsibly.
In addition to that, the UN Global Compact offers something invaluable according to yourharvest: access to a global network of like-minded organizations and practical trainings. "Sustainability requires exchange and continuous learning", the company explains, and as they have shown, it is that spirit of collaboration which drives their ongoing commitment to improvement.
Advice for other SMEs
Yourharvest emphasizes that sustainability requires foresight and a person in the company who thinks long-term and can inspire others. Their advice to other SMEs is to integrate sustainability into operational processes so that it becomes part of everyone's daily work. They also recommend joining networks and platforms such as the UN Global Compact or Ecovadis to connect, learn, and make sustainability efforts more visible.
Conclusion
Their story shows that true sustainability is not achieved through isolated actions, but through collaboration, courage, and long-term commitment. By identifying risks, taking responsibility, and engaging partners at every level, yourharvest has built a model that combines ethical sourcing with tangible social impact. Even in challenging times, their example proves that doing business responsibly is not only possible, it is essential for a sustainable future. We are looking forward to seeing how yourharvest's sustainability journey will progress and are excited to help them along the way.
If you are an SME and interested in inspiring fellow SMEs with your sustainability success story, do not hesitate to contact our Sustainability Advisor via email: fabio.gfeller@globalcompact.ch.
Disclaimer: The SME Stories are intended strictly for learning purposes and do not constitute an endorsement of the individual companies. Unless otherwise indicated, the content is not intended to reflect the official positions, views or opinions of the UN Global Compact Network Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The case study does not make any assessment of whether the companies presented fully align with the UN Global Compact Ten Principles. The aim is rather to demonstrate the feasibility of sustainability management and to offer SMEs suggestions for their own implementation.
Photo credits: yourharvest AG