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Overview of activities, risk factors
2.7 Risk factors
DANONE
REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2015
35
RISK IDENTIFICATION
RISK MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT
In addition, certain employees have access to confidential
documents in the course of their work. The loss or dissemi-
nation of sensitive and/or confidential information could harm
Danone's interests and reputation, and have an adverse effect
on its results.
Ethical and non-compliance risks
Ethics are a fundamental value for Danone, including consumers'
perceptions of its brands and products and of the Company's
communications. In that sense, Danone places great emphasis
on respect for ethical values and integrity. In addition, certain
Danone products belong to food categories subject to regulation
(early life nutrition and medical nutrition) for which respect
for ethical values and integrity is of even greater importance.
Behaviors contrary to ethical principles or violation of applicable
laws and regulations, in particular situations involving non-com-
pliance with food standards, product ingredient regulations or,
more generally, anti-fraud or corruption measures by Danone,
its partners, agents, employees or any other person acting on
its behalf, could engender consumer mistrust toward Danone's
products, expose Danone to criminal or civil liabilities and
could have adverse effects on Danone's results and reputation.
Danone has established the Business Conduct Principles, an
ethical code that applies to all Danone employees and forma-
lizes Danone's commitment to integrity and compliance with
applicable legal requirements. It sets demanding compliance
rules as well as action and conduct principles applicable to
employees for Danone activities in all countries where Danone
does business.
Ethics and compliance are part of themission of the Audit Com-
mittee and Social Responsibility Committee, which ensure the
application of ethical rules defined by Danone. Most notably, the
Social Responsibility Committee is kept informed on a periodic
basis of complaints received through the whistleblower system.
Since 2010, a welcome booklet (Danone Inside Pack) has been
given to new employees to remind themof the Business Conduct
Principles and the ethical alert number
Environmental regulations
In the course of its activities, Danone is subject to numerous
environmental regulations (mainly regarding water, air, the use
of natural resources, noise and waste), which are constantly
evolving and becoming increasingly stringent. Specifically,
Danone's activities are subject to the following environmental
regulations:
With respect to water, air and the use of natural resources
Danone's activity is subject to obtaining authorizations to
operate and/or appropriate permits:
•
in Europe, pursuant to the laws relating to sites designated
for environmental protection;
•
in other countries, pursuant to similar regulations.
Access to water sources and resources is sometimes linked
to national or local regulations. Changes in these regulations
could negatively affect the availability of water intended to be
bottled and marketed by Danone.
With respect to waste and packaging
Danone's activities are subject to specific regulations, notably
European directives:
•
directive 2008/98/EC on waste management;
•
directive 94/62 (amended in 2004) relating to packaging
and packaging waste, which requires source reductions,
reductions in the use of substances hazardous to the envi-
ronment, recycling, and recovery.
In order to comply with applicable environmental regulations,
Danone has established organizations and implemented pro-
cedures and tools, in addition to setting targets for reducing
its environmental footprint.
These various initiatives along with the measures taken in 2015
are described in section 5.2
Information concerning Danone's
social, societal and environmental performance in compliance
with the Grenelle II law
. No major provision for contingencies
and charges related to the environment has been recognized
in the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2015.