Danone Brochure 2019

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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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