Six months after its creation, the Danone Ecosystem Fund is assessing around thirty projects and has commenced financing its first two initiatives
At the second meeting of the Danone Ecosystem Fund Guidance Committee, a presentation was made of projects identified to date by Danone subsidiaries which are aimed at sustainably reinforcing the economic and social "ecosystem" of the territories in which they operate.
The approximately thirty projects already identified in partnership with local NGOs, are mostly aimed at resolving three major problems, relevant in both developing and developed countries:
- Supply of agricultural raw materials:: in all countries where Danone manufactures fresh dairy products, the supply of raw materials happens almost exclusively on a local basis. In about forty countries, large numbers of breeders and farmers thus enjoy economic activity that is strongly linked to that of Danone. They are often subject to major challenges and have to adapt continually to new demands, both national and international. Danone's role in the organisation of collection, through cooperatives for example, can help to improve the living conditions and incomes of farming families.
- Waste management: in several countries, recuperation of the packaging used for our products, provides income to population groups that are often underprivileged and work in very difficult circumstances, with no fair sharing of the income linked to this activity. The Danone Ecosystem Fund can be used to support the action undertaken by local NGOs seeking to structure these sectors through the creation of cooperatives that collect and transform these packaging materials to give them a market value, which is then redistributed to the people employed.
- Micro-distribution: in most of the markets where Danone is present, products are sold through extremely extensive distribution networks, made up of thousands of small, highly spread, sales outlets. Traditional logistics solutions are poorly adapted to supply these sales outlets. This situation is an opportunity for small stakeholders and alternative microbusinesses, which could be helped by the Danone Ecosystem Fund. The delivery of small quantities of goods to a multitude of small shops can in fact be seen as an important means of development and social integration.
Two projects have been selected to be financed immediately by the Danone Ecosystem Fund:
In France, the Danone Ecosystem Fund will support "Petite Reine", a re-employment company specialising in ecological transportation of goods by cycle-carriers, delivering to local, independent shops.
In Ukraine, the Danone Ecosystem Fund will support Danone Ukraine's small dairy producers and help to develop their agricultural production by creating – together with the NGO Heifer - 20 farming cooperatives which will each include between 60 and 80 small farmers. In the first phase, 1,000 farmers and their families will be able to improve their quality of life and their incomes, which are amongst the lowest in the country.
Some other projects are currently under further review, in order to specifically check that they meet criteria of sustainability and reproducibility. Over the coming weeks, several new investment decisions are set to be made on these projects.
Muriel Pénicaud, Executive Vice President HR and Chair of the Fund's Board, commented: "We are delighted with the high degree of internal mobilisation triggered by the creation of the Danone Ecosystem Fund. We see this as a sign of the vivacity of this dual economic and social project at Danone, while it – at the same time - confirms the relevance of this initiative in the current difficult economic environment. We are also pleased to see the active contribution being made to this initiative by many of our external partners, particularly NGOs. The work we are doing on our Ecosystem will indeed be all the more efficient and sustainable for all those involved because it is being built jointly with motivated, local stakeholders."
About Danone Ecosystem Fund:
The Danone Ecosystem Fund is designed to support, strengthen and develop the activity of its “Ecosystem”, meaning all stakeholders whose activities are impacted by Danone and who act closely with its local subsidiaries on economic, social and territorial matters. Creation of the Fund was approved almost unanimously by Danone’s shareholders at their Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on April 23rd, 2009, following which governing bodies were then gradually set up. The Fund was financed by an initial dotation of €100 mln in 2009. From 2010 onwards, up to 1% of Danone’s annual net profit will be contributed to the Fund for a period of 5 years.
The Fund will carry out actions in the following areas:
- Support the creation and strengthening of economic activities and entrepreneurial projects, to create jobs and support the development of small and medium-sized companies;
- Support the development of competencies and re-employment initiatives, in particular through training programs.
The Fund intervenes exclusively through actions proposed by Danone’s subsidiaries and in partnership with local associations.
The Guidance Committee met for the first time on June 12th, chaired by Franck Riboud with Martin Hirsch and Pascal Lamy as Vice-Chairmen. It includes the members of Danone's Executive Committee as well as well-known personalities from trade unions and universities. In September, Philippe Bassin was appointed Vice President of the Fund in addition to his role as Vice President Purchasing for the Fresh Dairy Products division.
About Danone
Danone is a Fortune 500 company and one of the most successful healthy food companies in the world. Its mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible. Fulfilling this mission is a major contributor to Danone’s continuous rapid growth. Danone, with 160 plants and around 80,000 employees, has a presence in all five continents and over 120 countries. In 2008, Danone recorded € 15.2 billion in sales. Danone enjoys leading positions on healthy food in four businesses: fresh dairy products (n°1 worldwide), water (n° 2 on the packaged water marke t), baby nutrition (n°2 worldwide) and medical nutrition. Listed on Eu ronext Paris, Danone is also ranked among the main indexes of social responsibility: Dow Jones Sustainability Index Stoxx and World, ASPI Eurozone and Ethibel Sustainability index.
