‘Businesses cannot succeed if the world around them isn’t thriving’

The challenges facing our environment and our society have become even more acute in the past year, with Covid-19 exacerbating the hardship facing many communities and significant change needed to avoid the point of no return for our climate.

To address the scale of these challenges, the world needs business at its best – creating value for society and helping to fix pressing problems.

Retailers, supermarkets and consumer brands across the board have played a vital role in supporting vulnerable communities since the start of the pandemic, from distributing to food banks and supporting charities to providing extra help for shoppers and feeding the nation. 

“Doing business in the best way for people and planet needs to stay core to every company, not just in times of crisis”

The role of food businesses and retailers, particularly supermarkets, has never been more valued. But it is far from ‘job done’.

Doing business in the best way for people and planet needs to stay core to every company, not just in times of crisis. 

Businesses cannot succeed if the world around them isn’t thriving and we must build on the sense of collective endeavour that the pandemic has generated to seize opportunities to do better.

That’s why Danone is one of more than 600 companies supporting the Better Business Act. Together, we are calling on the government to change the Companies Act so that all businesses are legally obligated to operate in a way that benefits communities, workers and the environment, while still delivering profit to shareholders. 

In practice, this will help ensure that businesses embed these principles as a core priority, encouraging them to go further on topics that matter for our planet, people and communities.

The Better Business Act is backed by a fast-growing coalition of businesses, including Waitrose, Iceland, Ben & Jerry’s, Innocent, Ella’s Kitchen, Cook and Abel & Cole. 

Now we need many more companies to give their support for a cleaner, greener and fairer future. The need for the Act has now been presented to a cross-party range of Parliamentarians – and there is a major opportunity to build support ahead of July 8, when the government will close a consultation on the future of corporate governance.

“72% of the UK public say businesses should have a legal responsibility to people and planet”

It’s not just the moral imperative that should compel organisations to back the Act. There is also the clear business case. 

More than ever, people want to buy from, work for, invest in and partner with businesses they trust to make a positive impact – 72% of the UK public say businesses should have a legal responsibility to people and planet. 

And in 2019, social impact was named by chief executives as the top success factor for annual performance in Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends for the first time.

In addition, the government has committed to ‘levelling up’ society and recently unveiled the world’s most ambitious climate target – pledging to reduce emissions by 78% by 2035.

Doing business in the best way for the health of people and the planet is embedded in Danone’s DNA and we empower every employee to take responsibility for making a positive difference.

One example is our remote volunteering efforts, in which hundreds of Danoners have virtually shared their skills and time to benefit thousands of people since the pandemic hit, from helping community groups to set up emergency food distribution processes to providing careers with training support.

“If we are to deliver a prosperous society in which nobody is left behind, and a just transition to a carbon-neutral UK, every business must decide how they will contribute”

As part of our commitment to doing business in the best way, we are working hard to certify all our operations around the world as B Corp by 2025. This means they will all be independently verified as meeting the highest standards of social and environmental performance. 

With 100,000 employees around the world, securing certifications for all our operations is no small task – but it’s critical to the way we do business.

The Better Business Act stems from the same principles as B Corp, intended as a foundation for all businesses to build on.

If we are to deliver a prosperous society in which nobody is left behind, and a just transition to a carbon-neutral UK, every business must decide how they will contribute. 

The Better Business Act is a vital way to provide renewed vigour for tackling the issues we face. By getting behind the Act, food companies and retailers can be at the forefront of reinforcing the positive role of business in society.