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DANONE
REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2015
Danone's business highlights in 2015 and outlook for 2016
3.1 Business highlights in 2015
48
Reduction of carbon footprint
Danone products depend on natural ecosystems. This being the case,
it is in the company's best interest to make care for the environment
an integral part of its business activities.
Since carbon footprint is a global indicator that reflects a wide
range of environmental criteria, Danone has for the past several
years been committed to reducing the carbon intensity (grams of
CO2 per kilo of product sold) of its products very significantly. As a
result of action plans deployed to this end, the Company effectively
decoupled business growth and CO2 emissions by reducing its car-
bon intensity by -46% based on constant scope of consolidation and
on emissions under the direct responsibility of Danone (packaging,
industrial activities, logistics and end-of-life) from 2008 to 2015.
In November 2015, as part of the COP21 of the United Nations,
Danone took these efforts further by adopting a new climate policy
that targets zero net carbon emissions within both its direct scope
of responsibility (production, packaging, logistics, end of life) and
the full scope of areas where it shares responsibility, especially in
agriculture. This new climate policy aims to achieve zero net carbon
emissions in the long term, starting with a 50% reduction in carbon
intensity between 2015 and 2030, and to accelerate Danone's car-
bon positive initiatives. The Company has also committed to start
reducing its full scope emissions in absolute terms before 2025.
Consistent with this commitment, the
evian
brand will be the first
to achieve zero net carbon in 2020.
See also section 5.2
Information concerning Danone's social, societal
and environmental performance in compliance with the Grenelle II law.
Social and societal responsibility
These activities are described in sections 5.2
Information concerning Danone's social, societal and environmental performance in compliance
with the Grenelle II law
and 5.3
Funds sponsored by Danone
.
Governance
Acting on the recommendation of the Nomination and Compensation
Committee, the Board of Directors, meeting on February 22, 2016,
approved draft resolutions that will be submitted to the Annual Gen-
eral Meeting on April 28, 2016 proposing that shareholders renew
the appointments of two Directors—Franck RIBOUD, Chairman,
and Emmanuel FABER, CEO—whose current terms are expiring.
The Board also proposed that shareholders approve the appointment
of Clara GAYMARD as an Independent Director as recommended
under the AFEP-MEDEF governance code.
See also section 6.1
Governance bodies.
Research and Development
Fresh Dairy Products
In 2015, the Fresh Dairy Products Division continued its research
activities on the impact of yogurt consumption on diet and health,
which was confirmed by independent studies by academic research-
ers covering, in particular:
•
the link between yogurt consumption and better weight man-
agement among adults in Russia;
•
overweight and obese people in Canada who consume yogurt
regularly and have a better cardiometabolic risk profile;
•
the complementarity of yogurt and fruit consumption to reduce
metabolic risk factors among adults in Spain.
In 2015, the Division also continued its research on understanding
intestinal flora, its changes and the impact of diet and probiotics
on its richness, in collaboration with scientific institutions such as
the INRA (French National Institute for Agricultural Research) in
Paris, Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA, the Institut Pasteur
in Paris and University College in Cork, Ireland.
Finally, the Division pursued its innovation project mainly with:
•
the extension of the Greek-style yogurt product line in Japan
and Oikos Triple Zero in the United States;
•
the re-launch of the
Gervais
brand in France, Activia set-style
yogurt in Russia and a fat-free with less than 99 calorie
SER
stirred yogurt in Argentina;
•
the launch of Actimel Provital in Spain (multivitamins and ginseng).
Waters
In 2015, the Waters Division's Research and Development depart-
ment, in line with its strategy to develop innovative solutions to
promote healthier hydration for consumers, pursued its efforts in
aquadrinks and packaging:
•
the aquadrinks product lines saw the addition of new varieties
and new packaging formats under existing brands as well as the
extension of the carbonated aquadrinks lines in the UK and Poland.
•
in terms of packaging, Danone is continuing to develop a 100%
plant-based plastic bottle used for various carbonated formu-
las. It is also pursuing the development of innovative formats,
particularly with the launch in Spain of a playful bottle under
the Font Vella brand to encourage children to drink water, which
garnered two awards at the Global Bottled Water Awards 2015.
Lastly, to improve the convenience of the Volvic packaging and
pack, Danone broke new ground with the launch of an easy-to-
open grip bottle in a pack that is easier to carry.
Danone also continued to conduct scientific research on the health
benefits of water and to collaborate with scientific partners EASO
(European Association for the Study of Obesity) and ISN (Interna-
tional Society of Nephrology). All of these innovative findings were
presented in July 2015 at the seventh annual H4H (“Hydration For
Health”) symposium with a special focus on children's hydration.
In 2015, Danone released some of the results of this research with
the publication of:
•
the first worldwide database of water intakes, i.e. the amount
of water consumed by the population of 15 countries, in the
European Journal of Nutrition;
•
a summary of its research on the consumption of fluids (“Fluid
Intakes” study) in the European Journal of Nutrition.