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Social, societal and environmental responsibility
5.2 Information concerning Danone's social, societal and environmental performance in compliance with the Grenelle II law
DANONE
REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2015
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Protecting biodiversity
Measures taken to preserve or develop biodiversity
Sustainable agriculture
The impact of Danone's business on biodiversity is primarily related
to upstream agriculture (soil and water). In 2012, the Danone Ltda
subsidiary (Fresh Dairy Products, Brazil) launched a pilot study on
product life cycle analysis in conjunction with NGO partners IPE
(
Instituto de Pesquisas Ecologicas
) and IUCN (International Union for
Conservation of Nature) to develop a methodology for evaluating
issues relating to biodiversity in Danone's value chain.
In 2014, Danone Brésil (Fresh Dairy Products) won the “Exame”
Guide for Sustainability 2014 award in the Biodiversity Management
category. This award is the culmination of a study on biodiversity
with the
Danoninho
brand and the related operational projects: water
management at the Poços de Caldas site and the pilot site for straw-
berry production in the southern part of the state of Minas Gerais.
In the area of agriculture andmilk collection, in 1997 the Fresh Dairy
Products Division, together with all its farmer partners, launched
the FaRMS initiative, which evaluates farmers' performance based
on economic, social and environmental criteria, including criteria
related to biodiversity protection (see section
Relations with milk
producers
hereafter). In 2013, Danone introduced a 360° evalua-
tion tool developed by the University of Bern to assess a farm's
sustainability. This tool is an enhancement to the Danone FaRMs
tool, which remains the benchmark Danone tool for all dairy farms.
Preserving and developing biodiversity near Danone sites
Danone's sites are located in very diverse ecosystems and climates.
Many of these sites benefit from an exceptional environment and
specific protection, as is the case with the Waters Division's sites,
whose rainwater catchment areas are very carefully managed:
•
since 2009, the catchment area of the Evian spring has been in-
cluded in the list of wetlands covered by the Ramsar Convention,
the aim of which is to ensure the sustainability of these natural
regions which are essential for maintaining biodiversity;
•
in France as well, the site of the Volvic springs was classified as a
Nature Reserve in 2015, particularly to protect the bat population.
A study conducted under the European SEMEAU project made it
possible to clarify the role of the forest in the functioning of the
hydrogeological system and propose guidelines for managing
this forest;
•
to preserve its natural mineral water spring in the pre-Andes in
Argentina, the
Villavicencio
brand has created a natural reserve
for its 72,000 hectares rich in biodiversity. Building on this
experience, it is continuing its innovative partnership with the
Banco de Bosques NGO through the
Deja tu Huella
(“Leave your
footprint”) operation, which invites consumers to participate in
the creation of a new natural reserve: for every bottle purchased,
Villavicencio
pledges to protect 1 square meter of natural biotope.
The brand has also launched initiatives to raise public aware-
ness about the dangers of deforestation and the importance of
biodiversity in the local ecosystem. The results of this operation
are impressive: nearly 4,800 hectares protected, active public
participation in the project, and increased consumer preference
for the
Villavicencio
brand;
•
starting in 2012, Danone Waters China has bolstered its protec-
tion initiatives at the Longmen site through a partnership with
the Danone Ecosystem Fund (see section 5.3
Funds sponsored
by Danone)
. The goal of the Eco-Longmen project, which aims
to involve a large number of farmers, is to preserve the quantity
and quality of water resources and biodiversity while improving
the living conditions of the local communities.
Danone's Forest Footprint Policy
Conscious of the importance of preserving the planet's forests
(particularly tropical forests in Indonesia and the Congo and Amazon
river basins), Danone is committed to a strategy of eliminating
the impacts of deforestation on its supply chain and to a program
of reforestation by 2020 (including the Livelihood Fund's natural
ecosystem restoration program).
To achieve this, Danone has created a Forest Footprint Policy that
aims to:
•
evaluate deforestation risks related to the raw materials used
directly or indirectly by Danone's businesses;
•
propose specific policies;
•
implement prioritized actions based on risks and associated
impacts. Six key materials have been prioritized: paper/card-
board packaging, palm oil, soybeans for animal feed, energy
wood, sugar cane and bio-sourced rawmaterials for packaging.
This policy has been adapted to three categories of raw materials:
Specific palm oil policy
With a volume of approximately 35,000 tons, Danone uses palm oil
in modest proportions relative to other activities in the food and
beverage industry.
In November 2015, Danone introduced a Palm Oil policy, which is
available at
www.danone.comin the “Publications” section.
Danone is committed to ensuring that all palm oil used:
•
is traceable from the plantation of origin;
•
comes fromplantations whose expansion does not threaten “High
Conversation Value” (HCV) or High Carbon Stock (HCS) forests;
•
comes from plantations whose expansion does not threaten
tropical peatlands, regardless of their depth;
•
comes from plantations that respect the rights of indigenous
populations and local communities to grant or refuse their free
and prior consent to operate on land to which they hold legal,
communal or customary rights;
•
comes from plantations where the rights of all workers are
respected.
Since 2014, Danone has purchased 100% of its palm oil from CSPO
(Certified Sustainable Palm Oil) sources.
Overall, its oil comes from 30 mills and 10 producers located
in Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Guatemala and the
Solomon Islands.
Danone is convinced that the path to responsible palm oil requires
innovative approaches that enable the various stakeholders to
develop positive solutions.
In a longer term, Danone plans to replace palm oil with alternative
resources on a case-by-case basis.