A game-changing sustainability transformation
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Danone: sustainability transformation in food and beverage WRITTEN BY
LAURA MULLAN
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DANONE
Food and beverage heavyweight Danone has earned its stripes as a sustainability champion – But what’s the secret behind its success?
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rom evian water to Activia yoghurts, Danone’s products are now a mainstay of any household fridge or supermarket
shelf. Under its banner, the food and beverage giant 04
hasn’t just invented iconic flavours, it’s also made a name for itself as a sustainability powerhouse. In 2017, Danone unveiled a refreshed logo and its very first company signature: ‘One Planet. One Health’. This slogan underlines the French multinational’s belief that the health of people and the planet are inherently interconnected. It also marked a call to action, urging consumers to join the ‘food revolution’ and adopt healthier, more sustainable eating and drinking habits. It’s an impressive mantra, but Danone’s commitment to health and sustainability stretches back much further. In fact, it’s almost as old as the company itself. In 1919, Danone’s founder, Isaac Carasso, noticed that many Spanish children suffered from intestinal infections. Echoing the previous work by Nobel laureate and Pasteur
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â‚Ź24.7bn+ Approximate revenue
1919
Year founded
10,000+
Approximate number of employees 07
Institute director, Ilya Mechnikov, he
ment Goals of the United Nations,
launched a yoghurt which marked the
these objectives include: offering
birth of the Danone brand. Fast forward
superior food experiences and
to today and the Paris-headquartered
innovation; delivering stronger sustain-
firm is present in over 130 markets with
able profitable growth; becoming a
a slew of beloved and trusted products
certified B Corp; impacting people’s
including essential dairy and plant
health locally; and growing Manifesto
based products, early life nutrition,
brands as well as preserving and
waters and medical nutrition.
renewing the planet’s resources.
Keen to stay laser focused on its
On top of this, the firm has also
sustainable vision, Danone has
pledged to foster inclusion and growth,
pinpointed nine ambitious goals that it
serve the food revolution with partners,
hopes to achieve by 2030. Aligning
and entrust its people to create new
with the 2030 Sustainable Develop-
futures. Revealing these ambitious w w w.da no n e. com
DANONE
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“In 2017, Danone unveiled a refreshed logo and its very first company signature: ‘One Planet. One Health’”
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PURPOSE LED, PERFORMANCE DRIVEN
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goals, Emmanuel Faber, Chairman and
cant strides towards these objectives.
CEO of Danone, said that he believes
Last year, Danone North America
“each time we eat and drink, we can
became the world’s largest B Corp, a
vote for the world we want”. He added:
key social and environmental milestone
“This has inspired the definition of our
for the firm which shows it has met the
long term goals which flow directly
“highest standards of verified social
from our ‘One Planet. One Health’
and environmental performance,
vision. As we strengthen our business
transparency, and accountability”.
model and nourish our dual economic
In 2017, the firm also reported that 86%
and social project, we have every
of its total packaging (and 77% of its
confidence we will deliver our business
plastic packaging) was reusable,
and financial agenda, as well as create
recyclable or compostable. This is just
and share sustainable value for all.”
the beginning: by 2025, the firm aims to
Danone has already made signifi-
ensure that every piece of packaging, w w w.da no n e. com
DANONE
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from bottle caps to yoghurt cups, is
partnerships to make
recyclable, reusable or compostable.
At the same time, Danone has also
for instance, evian is taking part in
made consistent efforts to reduce its
a research mission with The Ocean
waste and optimise material use, for
Cleanup, a Dutch nonprofit startup that
instance, the firm plans to introduce
has created advanced technologies to
alternatives to plastic straws, launching
help rid the oceans of plastic, whilst
a pilot under its Indonesian brand
elsewhere Danone AQUA has pledged
AQUA. Additionally, it’s also trying to
to recover more plastic than it uses in
eliminate non-recyclable shrink film
Indonesia. On top of this, the French
by using specially designed adhesive
business is also a proactive member of
for its evian water brand.
the Sustainable Food Policy Alliance
Danone has also forged meaningful
its plastic-free vision a reality:
alongside industry peers such as Mars,
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Nestlé and Unilever. Aiming to advance
“a balanced, profitable and sustainable
public policies that improve transpar-
growth model”, according to the firm.
ency for consumers, support farm
Through this initiative, Danone aims
communities, and tackle climate change,
to generate cost savings of €1bn by
the alliance is set to be a game changer
2020 by making efficiency an ingrained
for policy action, shaping the wider
part of day-to-day business.
food and beverage industry at large. This sustainable ethos also extends
In order to include its employees on this sustainability roadmap,
to Danone’s top and bottom lines.
Danone’s workers are also set to
Indeed, the food and beverage firm
receive one Danone share to deepen
has recently launched an efficiency
their ownership mindset. The firm has
programme called Protein that
also developed an internal platform
is designed to help Danone build
with extensive sharing and learning w w w.da no n e. com
DANONE
resources to help employees support
that “there is only one earth, we only live
the firm’s vision and goals. But it’s not
once.’’ Those words kick-started a vision
just employees who are an important
that lives on today. Now, sustainability is
catalyst of this sustainability drive.
an intrinsic part of Danone’s DNA, just
Indeed, Faber highlights how consum-
as much as its beloved brands and
ers are an integral part of this transfor-
flavours. With its 2030 goals, the
mation journey and how they’ve pushed
French food and beverage giant has an
the firm to better itself. “Consumers are
ambitious roadmap underway, which is
craving change,” he says. “They expect
about actions as well as words. Now,
large organisations like Danone to
with the help of its employees, con-
bring our scale of impact to change
sumers and partnerships, Danone’s
the world for the better.”
sustainability vision is almost in grasp.
With this in mind, it seems sustainability is set to remain a core tenet of Danone’s strategy in the years to come, just as it has been since the business was founded almost a century ago. Indeed, Antoine Riboud, the first Danone Chairman and CEO, said in 1972 w w w.da no n e. com
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Danone 17 boulevard Haussmann Paris, 75000, FR T +33 1 44 35 20 20 www.danone.com