Post by account_disabled on Mar 6, 2024 5:28:26 GMT
Earlier this year, Danone became the first publicly traded company to become a “ company with a mission ,” a new type of corporation created by a 2019 French law.
The pioneering government structure will see the food giant officially enshrine environmental and social objectives alongside business objectives in its statutes.
GreenBiz 's Cecilia Keating comments that Danone , founded Chile Mobile Number List more than a century ago and famous for being declared a heritage site of national significance by the French government in 2005, has long prided itself on being a purpose-driven company.
Its new status is the latest in a series of steps the company has taken to boost its environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities as it works toward a much-publicized goal of becoming one of the first multinationals certified as B Corps.
Agriculture, the focus
Eric Soubeiran, the company's vice president of nature and water cycle, explained that the company's move away from intensive agriculture is at the core of its new sustainability mission .
Danone, which owns a range of household brands such as Volvic, Evian, Actimel, Alpro and Activia, is first and foremost a dairy company.
If you really want to achieve sustainability in a company, you need to know your business well. For a food company, that means knowing how and where ingredients are sourced, what customers want, and understanding where direct and indirect carbon emissions are coming from. Specifically, when you look at Danone, 60% of our carbon footprint comes from agriculture; 89% of our water footprint comes from agriculture. Sustainability begins with knowing your Scope 3 (value chain emissions). It is looking at the problem head-on and dismantling it piece by piece. That is why it is very important for us to have an opinion on the agricultural model we want.
Eric Soubeiran, vice president of nature and water cycle at Danone.
That's why the company is working with farmers around the world to adopt a regenerative approach to agriculture that promotes healthier soil and ecosystems, better water management, and greater seed and crop diversity.
Danone is training farmers in France to adopt new techniques to reach the goal of making agriculture in the country 100% regenerative by 2025. And to encourage the approach beyond its supply chain. He recently founded the One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B) initiative , a cross-sector effort to improve the private sector's approach to biodiversity.
It is very clear in Danone's vision that the food system is broken .
The activities established in the "green revolution" of the 1970s have intensified agricultural practices to a point where we have created a situation where food has become a commodity. And, by definition, a commodity has no value or very limited value. This is why we (as an industry) focus on volume, not quality, and how we have reached a point where we accept the fact that 30% of all food produced in the world is wasted.
Eric Soubeiran, vice president of nature and water cycle at Danone.
The transition from intensive agriculture, he stressed, can not only prevent the loss of wild species, create better working conditions for farmers and livestock, end monocultures and protect local ecosystems, but is also a lever that Danone must pull if it wants to reduce its carbon emissions to net zero by mid-century in line with global climate goals.
Soubeiran has experience disrupting what he calls “linearized” food chains and shaping them to be more sustainable. In a previous role at Danone, he managed the company's milk supply during the period when France liberalized its previously tightly controlled milk market.
The company decided to avoid a volume-focused pricing mechanism and set its milk price based on the cost of production, which gave Danone room to strengthen production conditions with farmers:
“ We wanted to stabilize our relationship with the farmers so we could discuss the way they were farming, talk about sustainability and animal welfare ,” explains Soubeiran. " It's hard to do that when you have enormous price volatility."
In fact, Soubeiran is under no illusion that the transition of the entire production chain to regenerative agriculture will come at a special cost, despite the growing interest of customers in Danone markets in sustainable products:
There is a market for sustainable food – people are looking for it – but we need to develop a parallel stream of finance. That is why Danone has signed the call for green recovery at the European level, because we believe that the transformation and renegotiation of agricultural policy is essential for this.
Eric Soubeiran, vice president of nature and water cycle at Danone.
“An additional stream of financing aims to help farmers improve the quality of what they produce, while keeping prices low for the customer,” Soubeiran explained.
Therefore, in May the company urged the EU to use its upcoming "Farm to Fork" and "Biodiversity 2030" strategies to establish a common EU food policy that provides incentives for farmers to adopt regenerative practices.
These initiatives, the company suggested, could range from crop and livestock insurance that minimizes the risk of lower yields during the transition process; “ innovative multi-stakeholder financing mechanisms ” or carbon credits for agricultural products with prices adjusted to reflect soil carbon sequestration performance; and “ first loss ” guarantees inspired by the renewable energy sector that allow farmers to finance the transition to more resilient agricultural systems.
Soubeiran maintains that the coronavirus has, in some ways, made his mission easier, as the animal-derived virus has underscored how ecological systems sustain human life. "If we protect biodiversity, we are basically protecting DNA diversity," Soubeiran reflected. «There is also a health aspect to it, since we are protecting biodiversity corridors. While that wasn't so obvious six months ago, it's obvious to everyone now." He notes that more than 65% of all emerging infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic (transmitted to people from animals).
But while the zoonotic coronavirus has disrupted public understanding of biodiversity and served as a “call to action” for Danone companies' sustainability initiatives, Soubeiran admits that, in practice, the pandemic has hampered efforts the company is making to get farmers to adopt regeneration practices. For example, when social distancing regulations were more stringent, trips to train farmers on new practices and review investment and financing plans became logistically impossible.
However, the silver lining is that the crisis has highlighted the resilience of Danone's direct sourcing model, which has minimized supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic. The company sources 75% of products directly from suppliers, Soubeiran explained, adding that the model is a great help in a world where collaboration and knowledge sharing between multinationals and their suppliers are essential to meet the carbon targets and other joint sustainability objectives.
Soubeiran maintains that the company's shareholders have a strong interest in Danone's growing archive of sustainability initiatives, particularly its decision late last year to publish carbon-adjusted earnings per share in its quarterly reports ( Carbon EPS).
The measurement sends a very strong message to shareholders that the company "has done its homework" in accounting for its Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions, according to Soubeiran, as well as exposing them to the invisible cost of carbon. Danone, based on the assumption that it reached its emissions peak in 2019, is confident that its carbon-adjusted EPS will increase in the coming years. And investors are committing to the approach. In 2018, Soubeiran estimates he had 70 interactions with shareholders; last year, it more than doubled to 190.
Furthermore, at the end of June, 99% of shareholders supported Danone's motion to become a " company with a mission ", a participation described as "mind-blowing" by Danone CEO Emmanuel Faber.
Huge praise for our shareholders following today's unanimous support for changing Danone's charter to incorporate health, planet, people and inclusion goals as part of our mission.
They showed evidence that finance can change the world. It is up to us, boards, CEOs and CFOs, to engage finance where it matters.
Emmanuel Faber, CEO of Danone.
In the coming months, Soubeiran will focus on leading a cross-sector effort to improve the private sector's approach to biodiversity, called the One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B) initiative.
The coalition, launched by Danone at last year's UN COP climate conference, features consumer goods heavyweights:
The real.
Google.
McCain.
Walmart.
Nestle.
Unilever.
Kellogg.
The companies have pledged to work together to scale up regenerative farming practices, increase the number of sourced ingredients to reduce the world's reliance on a handful of crops, and better protect local ecosystems by restoring nature and eliminating deforestation. The group is developing a framework for action that will be unveiled at the IUCN World Conservation Congress, which has been postponed six months to January due to the pandemic.
The pioneering government structure will see the food giant officially enshrine environmental and social objectives alongside business objectives in its statutes.
GreenBiz 's Cecilia Keating comments that Danone , founded Chile Mobile Number List more than a century ago and famous for being declared a heritage site of national significance by the French government in 2005, has long prided itself on being a purpose-driven company.
Its new status is the latest in a series of steps the company has taken to boost its environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities as it works toward a much-publicized goal of becoming one of the first multinationals certified as B Corps.
Agriculture, the focus
Eric Soubeiran, the company's vice president of nature and water cycle, explained that the company's move away from intensive agriculture is at the core of its new sustainability mission .
Danone, which owns a range of household brands such as Volvic, Evian, Actimel, Alpro and Activia, is first and foremost a dairy company.
If you really want to achieve sustainability in a company, you need to know your business well. For a food company, that means knowing how and where ingredients are sourced, what customers want, and understanding where direct and indirect carbon emissions are coming from. Specifically, when you look at Danone, 60% of our carbon footprint comes from agriculture; 89% of our water footprint comes from agriculture. Sustainability begins with knowing your Scope 3 (value chain emissions). It is looking at the problem head-on and dismantling it piece by piece. That is why it is very important for us to have an opinion on the agricultural model we want.
Eric Soubeiran, vice president of nature and water cycle at Danone.
That's why the company is working with farmers around the world to adopt a regenerative approach to agriculture that promotes healthier soil and ecosystems, better water management, and greater seed and crop diversity.
Danone is training farmers in France to adopt new techniques to reach the goal of making agriculture in the country 100% regenerative by 2025. And to encourage the approach beyond its supply chain. He recently founded the One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B) initiative , a cross-sector effort to improve the private sector's approach to biodiversity.
It is very clear in Danone's vision that the food system is broken .
The activities established in the "green revolution" of the 1970s have intensified agricultural practices to a point where we have created a situation where food has become a commodity. And, by definition, a commodity has no value or very limited value. This is why we (as an industry) focus on volume, not quality, and how we have reached a point where we accept the fact that 30% of all food produced in the world is wasted.
Eric Soubeiran, vice president of nature and water cycle at Danone.
The transition from intensive agriculture, he stressed, can not only prevent the loss of wild species, create better working conditions for farmers and livestock, end monocultures and protect local ecosystems, but is also a lever that Danone must pull if it wants to reduce its carbon emissions to net zero by mid-century in line with global climate goals.
Soubeiran has experience disrupting what he calls “linearized” food chains and shaping them to be more sustainable. In a previous role at Danone, he managed the company's milk supply during the period when France liberalized its previously tightly controlled milk market.
The company decided to avoid a volume-focused pricing mechanism and set its milk price based on the cost of production, which gave Danone room to strengthen production conditions with farmers:
“ We wanted to stabilize our relationship with the farmers so we could discuss the way they were farming, talk about sustainability and animal welfare ,” explains Soubeiran. " It's hard to do that when you have enormous price volatility."
In fact, Soubeiran is under no illusion that the transition of the entire production chain to regenerative agriculture will come at a special cost, despite the growing interest of customers in Danone markets in sustainable products:
There is a market for sustainable food – people are looking for it – but we need to develop a parallel stream of finance. That is why Danone has signed the call for green recovery at the European level, because we believe that the transformation and renegotiation of agricultural policy is essential for this.
Eric Soubeiran, vice president of nature and water cycle at Danone.
“An additional stream of financing aims to help farmers improve the quality of what they produce, while keeping prices low for the customer,” Soubeiran explained.
Therefore, in May the company urged the EU to use its upcoming "Farm to Fork" and "Biodiversity 2030" strategies to establish a common EU food policy that provides incentives for farmers to adopt regenerative practices.
These initiatives, the company suggested, could range from crop and livestock insurance that minimizes the risk of lower yields during the transition process; “ innovative multi-stakeholder financing mechanisms ” or carbon credits for agricultural products with prices adjusted to reflect soil carbon sequestration performance; and “ first loss ” guarantees inspired by the renewable energy sector that allow farmers to finance the transition to more resilient agricultural systems.
Soubeiran maintains that the coronavirus has, in some ways, made his mission easier, as the animal-derived virus has underscored how ecological systems sustain human life. "If we protect biodiversity, we are basically protecting DNA diversity," Soubeiran reflected. «There is also a health aspect to it, since we are protecting biodiversity corridors. While that wasn't so obvious six months ago, it's obvious to everyone now." He notes that more than 65% of all emerging infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic (transmitted to people from animals).
But while the zoonotic coronavirus has disrupted public understanding of biodiversity and served as a “call to action” for Danone companies' sustainability initiatives, Soubeiran admits that, in practice, the pandemic has hampered efforts the company is making to get farmers to adopt regeneration practices. For example, when social distancing regulations were more stringent, trips to train farmers on new practices and review investment and financing plans became logistically impossible.
However, the silver lining is that the crisis has highlighted the resilience of Danone's direct sourcing model, which has minimized supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic. The company sources 75% of products directly from suppliers, Soubeiran explained, adding that the model is a great help in a world where collaboration and knowledge sharing between multinationals and their suppliers are essential to meet the carbon targets and other joint sustainability objectives.
Soubeiran maintains that the company's shareholders have a strong interest in Danone's growing archive of sustainability initiatives, particularly its decision late last year to publish carbon-adjusted earnings per share in its quarterly reports ( Carbon EPS).
The measurement sends a very strong message to shareholders that the company "has done its homework" in accounting for its Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions, according to Soubeiran, as well as exposing them to the invisible cost of carbon. Danone, based on the assumption that it reached its emissions peak in 2019, is confident that its carbon-adjusted EPS will increase in the coming years. And investors are committing to the approach. In 2018, Soubeiran estimates he had 70 interactions with shareholders; last year, it more than doubled to 190.
Furthermore, at the end of June, 99% of shareholders supported Danone's motion to become a " company with a mission ", a participation described as "mind-blowing" by Danone CEO Emmanuel Faber.
Huge praise for our shareholders following today's unanimous support for changing Danone's charter to incorporate health, planet, people and inclusion goals as part of our mission.
They showed evidence that finance can change the world. It is up to us, boards, CEOs and CFOs, to engage finance where it matters.
Emmanuel Faber, CEO of Danone.
In the coming months, Soubeiran will focus on leading a cross-sector effort to improve the private sector's approach to biodiversity, called the One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B) initiative.
The coalition, launched by Danone at last year's UN COP climate conference, features consumer goods heavyweights:
The real.
Google.
McCain.
Walmart.
Nestle.
Unilever.
Kellogg.
The companies have pledged to work together to scale up regenerative farming practices, increase the number of sourced ingredients to reduce the world's reliance on a handful of crops, and better protect local ecosystems by restoring nature and eliminating deforestation. The group is developing a framework for action that will be unveiled at the IUCN World Conservation Congress, which has been postponed six months to January due to the pandemic.