as one of Australia’s largest and most influential coffee roasters.Yet, despite this growth, the company has worked hard to maintain its original values of integrity, innovation, and community spirit born from Veneziano. ACHIEVING B CORP CERTIFICATION One of the company’s proudest achievements is its B Corp certification, a rigorous process that measures social and environmental performance. For Dickson, certification validated what the company had long prioritized: treating people well, building strong supply chain relationships, and embedding sustainability into its operations. The certification process required NCG to take a hard look at its business practices. It led to improvements in areas ranging from governance and supply chain ethics to staff engagement and community impact.“B Corp gave us a framework to measure what we were already striving to do,” Dickson explains.“It holds us accountable and ensures we keep improving.” The company also earned recognition as a Great Place to Work, further affirming its people-first approach. GOVERNANCE AND STAFF ENGAGEMENT To support continuous improvement, NCG uses tools like Sedex for supply chain governance and Culture Amp for staff engagement. Sedex helps ensure transparency and protection against risks such as modern slavery, while Culture Amp tracks employee sentiment and highlights areas for development. The company produces an annual modern slavery report and runs quarterly staff engagement surveys to stay aligned with its values. These measures reflect a balance between small-business warmth and corporate governance rigor. “We want to keep that family-style culture where people feel connected,” Dickson says, “but we also need the structure and discipline of a corporate organization to keep growing responsibly.” COFFEE TRENDS AND CONSUMER SHIFTS The specialty coffee industry has evolved significantly 40 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 07, ISSUE 09
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI5MjAx