October 1, 2005

Food chain businesses must focus on sustainability, says Danisco
 

 

The majority of businesses in the food chain do not adequately recognise the importance of sustainability, according to Danisco A/S, one of the world's leading food and feed ingredient specialists. At a time when this aspect of business is increasingly important to customers and shareholders, that represents a major failing says the company, which is consistently a top performer in a number of global sustainability indices.

 

Addressing the Corporate Responsibility in Food and Agribusiness Conference at the Caf¡§¦ Royal in London today (29th September, 2005) Søren Vogelsang, the company's Vice President of Corporate Sustainable Development, told delegates that food and feed producers throughout the world must increase their efforts to address this key business issue. Presenting a paper entitled 'How to introduce sustainability from farm to fork', he underlined the increasing challenges faced by the food and feed ingredient sectors, with particular focus on four key areas:

• The responsibilities of food additive manufacturers with regard to ensuring sustainable agribusiness and food safety in the supply chain.
   
• How companies can influence suppliers and others with regard to environmental and social responsibility.
   
• The scale of the task facing global companies with numerous suppliers.
   
• How partnerships and dialogue can advance sustainable agribusiness. 

With 10,000 employees and a turnover of DKK 17.8 billion (€2.4 billion), Danisco is one of the world's largest food/feed ingredients producers and integrates sustainability into every element of its business. Balancing the requirements of nature with those of employees and the public while creating profit to benefit shareholders and wider society, the company has policies and systems to manage every area of sustainable production and development.

 

Danisco Animal Nutrition, its feed ingredients business, aims to provide sustainable animal nutrition solutions to meet consumer demand for safe, high quality food at affordable prices, with care and attention to the environment. The company pioneered the development and use of enzymes and betaine in animal nutrition and plays a leading role in the nutrition of poultry, pig and some aqua species. Danisco has offices in the UK, Spain, Denmark, Finland, USA, Singapore and China, plus production facilities in Denmark and Finland. 

 

Danisco's approach to sustainability is based on four pillars of sustainability:

• SHEQ (safety, health, environment and quality management, together with continuous improvement)
   
• Product safety (Food safety assessments, HACCP, traceability and value chain management)
   
• Environmental ethics (use of modern biotechnology, including alternative experimental models)
   
• Social issues and business integrity (employee rights, International society, security, compliance and business partners) 

Danisco actively promotes these values as part of its internal procedures and audit programmes, expects suppliers to comply with them, promotes sustainable development to ensure the delivery of safe, sustainable products to consumers and has a dedicated corporate Sustainable Development Team. The success of this approach is confirmed by growing interest in the company from investors and business analysts.

 

In the context of the agricultural industry, Danisco Animal Nutrition endeavours to promote sustainability at all levels of the value chain, from product development to the sourcing of raw materials and the production methods used.

 

Outlining practical examples of this approach, Mr Vogelsang explained how on a recent visit to India he travelled to a number of small villages, visited farms, a crushing station and refinery to assess the environmental and social impact of castor oil production. He also explained how Danisco purchases organic vanilla for use in products such as ice cream, flavoured coffee, health drinks and desserts from a non-profit organisation in India where 80 percent of the profits go to farmers and 20 percent to the workers who process, sort and dispatch the product. With growth rates for organic foods exceeding 20 percent per annum in some parts of the world, such an approach not only represents responsible social practice but also makes sound business sense.

 

Danisco has had significant success in assisting Lithuanian sugar beet producers to reduce their use of nitrogen fertilisers, thereby minimising groundwater pollution and maximising profitability. Since 1998, when the company acquired a share in four Lithuanian sugar factories, the level of amino-nitrogen in sugar beet has almost halved. The recommendations that helped to achieve the reduction are highlighted in a publication entitled 'Danisco Grower's Guidelines', which provides details on knowledge sharing and best practice.

 

A member of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI), Danisco shares its views on sustainability and engages in dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders throughout the food chain. Its work in the area of sustainability not only creates value for Danisco in respect of cost savings and employee motivation, but also benefits its customers.

 

Danisco's work to promote sustainability and corporate responsibility has been recognised by a number of the world's leading sustainability indexes, including FTSE4Good, Storebrand and Nordic Sustainability. The company was recently included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the fourth consecutive year, which placed it amongst the top 6 of the 55 companies in the global food and beverage field.

 

"With food and feed producers increasingly interested in issues such as food and product safety there is growing concern about how suppliers manage social issues and the supply chain. Our high standards protect our brand name as well as the brand names of our customers," commented Mr Vogelsang.

  

Andrea Barletta, Global Marketing Director, Danisco Animal Nutrition, commented: "Sustainability is at the heart of our efforts, which are driven by customers' key needs, namely food safety, the environment, cost reduction, differentiation and consistency. A clear policy to address sustainability and corporate responsibility issues can obviously contribute to the success of our customers' businesses as well as Danisco. We believe that our excellent sustainability record brings added value to our customers, which is why we continually strive to incorporate this aspect of business into everything we do."                                                                                                Søren Vogelsang, Danisco's vice president

                                                                                                      of Corporate Sustainable Development

                                                                                                     

For further information, please contact:

 

Andrea Barletta,                                  Julian Cooksley,

Global Marketing Director,                     Account Manager,

Danisco Animal Nutrition.                      Kendalls Communications.

Tel: +44 (0) 1672 517777                     Tel: +44 (0) 1394 610022

Email: andrea.barletta@danisco.com      Email: julian.cooksley@kendallscom.co.uk