Press release - Paris, April 12, 2018
Danone achieves key progress in its global B CorpTM ambition
with new subsidiaries certified in the U.S. and Canada
Danone today announces that Danone North America -operating in the U.S.- and Danone Canada have achieved B CorpTM Certification, two years ahead of target. Thanks to these new achievements, approximately 30% of Danone's global business is now covered by B CorpTM certification.
This is a major milestone towards Danone achieving its global B CorpTM certification ambition; a key component of the company's longstanding commitment to deliver financial success along with social and environmental progress.
Danone North America becomes the largest Certified B Corporation® in the world, while Danone Canada becomes the largest consumer-facing Certified B Corporation® in Canada.
Counting these two new additions, a total of eight Danone entities have now earned B CorpTM Certification, including dairy subsidiaries in France (Les Prés Rient Bio), in Spain and in the UK, organic baby food brand Happy Family in the U.S., Aguas Danone de Argentina, and AQUA in Indonesia.
As a result, approximately 30% of Danone's global business is now covered by B CorpTM certification, marking significant progress towards Danone's ambition to become one of the first certified multinationals.
Scaling up the B CorpTM movement to multinational companies is part of Danone's long-standing commitment to deliver economic success and social progress. This is encapsulated in the company's 'One Planet. One Health' vision, which reflects its belief that the health of people and the health of the planet are connected and interdependent.
Danone Chairman and CEO Emmanuel Faber commented: "People rightly expect large organizations like Danone to use their scale for positive impact. We do not take this responsibility lightly. B Corp certification is one measure that provides consumers, investors and other stakeholders with a robust framework to assess whether the company they support is having a positive impact on society and the planet. As a company with annual revenue of approximately €25 billion and more than 100,000 employees across 120 countries, our progress towards global
B Corp certification proves that profitable and sustainable business is possible, no matter how large your business is."
A rigorous B CorpTM Certification reflective of core commitments
B CorpTM Certification is a mark of trust: a promise that a company is doing business in a way that meets rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability and is certified by B Lab®, a third-party non-profit.
Since 2015, Danone has partnered with B Lab® to help define a meaningful and manageable path to certification for multinationals and publicly traded companies, as well as accelerate growth of the B CorpTM movement into the mainstream.
Bart Houlahan, co-founder of B Lab® commented: "A successful B Corp movement needs an inclusive community of companies of all sizes: from listed companies to small sole-proprietors. When we founded B Lab®, our vision was to empower the world's entrepreneurial leaders to use business as a force for goodTM. For that vision to become a reality, we need multinational corporations to lead by example. Therefore, we could not be more excited that more Danone subsidiaries have undertaken the significant effort to become certified. We hope Danone's ambition and progress will inspire others to follow suit."
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Notes to editors:
About the B Corporation® Certification process
Certified B Corporations® are leaders of a global movement of people using business as a force for good(TM). They meet the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability and aspire to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.
To obtain B CorpTM certification, a company must complete a B Impact Assessment and earn an audited minimum score of 80 out of 200 possible points and recertify - with the aim to continuously improve - every two years.
List of Danone Certified B CorpTM entities
Eight Danone entities have earned B CorpTM Certification: Danone North America in the U.S., Danone Canada (Danone Inc.), Danone dairy entity in Spain (Danone S.A.), Danone dairy entity in the UK (Danone Ltd), Les Prés Rient Bio in France, Happy Family in the U.S (Nurture), Aguas Danone de Argentina, and AQUA in Indonesia (PT Tirta Investama).
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 built on four businesses: Essential Dairy and Plant-Based Products, Waters, Early Life Nutrition and Advanced Medical Nutrition. Danone aims to inspire healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking practices, in line with its vision -Danone, One Planet. One Health- which reflects a strong belief that the health of people and the health of the planet are interconnected. Building on health-focused categories, Danone commits to operating in an efficient and responsible manner to create and share sustainable value. Danone holds itself to the highest standards in doing business, as reflected by its ambition to become one of the first multinationals certified as B Corp. With products sold in over 120 markets, Danone generated sales of €24.7 billion in 2017. 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.
About Danone North America (DanoneNorthAmerica.com)
Danone North America is a Certified B Corporation business unit of Danone and operates in the U.S. from headquarter offices in White Plains, NY and Broomfield, CO. Danone North America was formed as a Public Benefit Corporation in 2017 to nourish people, communities and the world through its diverse portfolio of healthful dairy- and plant-based products, coffee creamers and beverages. Its portfolio of brands includes: Activia®, DanActive®, Danimals®, Dannon®, Danonino®, Danone®, Earthbound Farm®, Horizon Organic® premium dairy products, International Delight® coffee creamers and iced coffee, Light & Fit®, Oikos® Greek yogurt, Silk® plant-based foods and beverages, So Delicious® Dairy Free, Vega® and Wallaby® Organic. The mission of the Company is to bring health through food to as many people as possible.
About Danone Canada (www.danone.ca)
Danone Canada is a business unit of Danone and operates from headquarter offices in Boucherville, Quebec, and Mississauga, Ontario. Danone Canada is the country's largest consumer-facing B Corporation, demonstrating that the company meets the highest standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Danone Canada's ambition is to produce healthful dairy, plant-based products and coffee creamers and beverages; create economic and social value; and nurture natural ecosystems through sustainable agriculture. Its portfolio of brands includes Activia, Oikos, DanActive, Danone, Silk plant-based foods and beverages, So Delicious Dairy Free and more.
About B Lab® (www.bcorporation.net)
B Lab® is a nonprofit 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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