Danone’s dual commitment to business success and social progress

Marseille, 1972. Antoine Riboud, Danone CEO and father of present-day CEO Franck Riboud, stepped up to the podium at a meeting of CNPF, the French employers’ association. And the speech he gave became a milestone.

“Corporate responsibility does not end at the factory gate or the office door,” he said. “The jobs a business creates are central to the lives of employees, and the energy and raw materials we consume change the shape of our planet. Public opinion is there to remind us of our responsibilities in the industrial world of today […]. It is clear that growth should no longer be an end in itself, but rather a tool used to serve quality of life without ever being detrimental to it.”

Looking 30 years into the future, Antoine Riboud foresaw the challenges business now faces, including the need to generate social benefits and practice sustainable development. And he defined the broad outlines of Danone’s mission today: bringing health through food to as many people as possible through a dual commitment to business success and social progress. There is a direct link between this mission and the operations of Danone’s four business lines -- fresh dairy products, mineral water, medical nutrition and baby nutrition -- in over 120 countries today.

Grameen Danone, the first business supported by danone.communities, is one way of making Danone’s mission and dual commitment a reality.

• Better health through food
• Sustainable operations that benefit the local ecosystem
• Environmental protection

Link to Danone and dual commitment history:
http://www.danone.com/en/company/history.html