9th September 2019
Danone Dairy Ireland announces today that the company has achieved B Corp™ Certification, a mark of trust that recognizes its ambition to act beyond profit and put purpose at the heart of its business strategy. It is the first FMCG company to be certified in Ireland, and the second company in Ireland overall, to become a certified B Corporation® - a major achievement at a time when businesses are increasingly expected to take a stand on and respond to key issues facing society.
Danone Dairy Ireland joins other Danone entities across Europe, North America, Asia, North Africa and South America who have already received the certification. To date, more than 30% of Danone’s global sales are covered by the B Corp™ Certification. Its ambition is to become one of the first multinational food companies to be B Corp™ Certified at a global level.
Commenting on this achievement, James Bruce, Head of Danone Dairy Ireland, said: “We are proud to receive this globally recognised certification that builds trust in our ability to combine business success with social and environmental progress. We will engage partners, stakeholders and consumers around this important B Corp movement, which reflects Danone's overall ‘One Planet. One Health’ vision, aimed at nurturing the adoption of healthier, more sustainable eating and drinking habits.”
Welcoming Danone Dairy Ireland’s B Corp™ accreditation, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys, TD, said: “I would like to congratulate Danone Dairy Ireland on achieving this globally recognised B Corp certification. Without a doubt, it is a testament to their commitment to operating in an ethical and sustainable way. Operating in this way should be a top priority for us all. This is something that the Government is working hard on in partnership with business, through the National Plan on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the Climate Action Plan. I would encourage more enterprises to follow the lead of Danone and put CSR at the heart of their business.”
Nathan Gilbert, Executive Director of B Lab® Europe, said: “We are delighted to welcome Danone Dairy Ireland to the B Corp Community. This is a movement of companies who are dedicated to changing how business operates, who believe business really can be a force for good. Their commitment to doing business differently in Ireland will be an inspiration to others and really help spread the idea that we can redefine success in business to be as much about people and planet as it is about profit.”
To obtain the B Corp™ Certification, companies must complete a B Impact Assessment and recertify—with the aim to continuously improve—every three years. Danone Dairy Ireland underwent this rigorous, independent assessment covering four key impact areas of Governance, Workers, Community and Environment. As part of the process, Danone Dairy Ireland was required to provide evidence of socially and environmentally responsible practices - including energy supplies, waste and water use, worker compensation, diversity and corporate transparency. Such business practices include:
- The company’s commitment to making all of its product packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025;
- Staff being encouraged to work remotely in order to lower the company’s carbon footprint;
- Staff being incentivised to volunteer for charitable causes;
- The company running a programme to give access to shares to all employees;
- Any intern employed by the company being paid the living wage;
- The company partnering with the only other B Corp™ recipient in Ireland to date, UrbanVolt, to reduce the environmental impact of its office space in Dublin.
ENDS
For more information:
Fiona Murphy, Edelman | T: + 353 87 8194464 | E: fiona.murphy@edelman.com
About Danone (www.danone.com)
Dedicated to bringing health through food to as many people as possible, Danone is a leading global food & beverage company building on health-focused and fast-growing categories in three businesses: Essential Dairy & Plant-based products, Waters and Specialized Nutrition. Danone aims to inspire healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking practices, in line with its ‘One Planet. One Health’ vision which reflects a strong belief that the health of people and that of the planet are interconnected. To bring this vision to life and create superior, sustainable, profitable value for all its stakeholders, Danone has defined its 2030 Goals: a set of nine integrated goals aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.
Danone commits to operating in an efficient, responsible and inclusive manner; it holds itself to the highest standards in doing business, as reflected by its ambition to become one of the first multinationals certified as B CorpTM. With more than 100,000 employees, and products sold in over 120 markets, Danone generated €24.7 billion in sales in 2018. Danone’s portfolio includes leading international brands (Actimel, Activia, Alpro, Aptamil, Danette, Danio, Danonino, evian, Nutricia, Nutrilon, Volvic, among others) as well as strong local and regional brands (including AQUA, Blédina, Bonafont, Cow & Gate, Horizon, Mizone, Oikos, Prostokvashino, Silk, Vega).
Listed on Euronext Paris and on the OTCQX market via an ADR (American Depositary Receipt) program,Danone is a component stock of leading social responsibility indexes including the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, Vigeo Eiris, the Ethibel Sustainability Index, MSCI Global Sustainability, MSCI Global SRI Indexes and the FTSE4Good Index.
For information about Danone Ireland please visit: www.danone.ie
About B Lab® (www.bcorporation.net) B Lab® is a non-profit organization that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for goodTM. Its vision is that one day all companies will compete to be best for the world and that society will enjoy a more shared and durable prosperity. B Lab® drives this systemic change by: (1) building a global community of Certified B Corporations; (2) promoting Mission Alignment using innovative corporate structures like the benefit corporation to align the interests of business with those of society; (3) helping tens of thousands of businesses, investors and institutions Measure What Matters, by using the B Impact Assessment and B Analytics to manage their impact — and the impact of the businesses with which they work — with as much rigor as their profits; and (4) inspiring millions to join the movement through compelling storytelling.
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