Hershey: New CSR report pledges more education, nutrition and biodiversity protection

06 Jun 2018 --- The Hershey Company has unveiled its 2017 Shared Goodness Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report detailing the company’s new CSR strategy, Shared Goodness Promise, which involves investments, collaborative programs and sustainable business practices. The new strategy provides a focused framework for the company’s CSR work in four areas: Shared Futures, Shared Communities, Shared Business and Shared Planet.

Aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Shared Goodness Promise addresses some of the most significant challenges facing communities around the world. 

It aims to nourish the lives of children and help them succeed in school, invest in purpose-driven initiatives and business models, safeguard the natural environment, help Hershey communities thrive, and engage Hershey’s employees in the efforts.  

Earlier this year, Hershey launched its Cocoa for Good strategy, a key component of Shared Business.

“Hershey is a company that has married being purpose-driven with offering meaningful, impactful day-to-day work,” says Michele Buck, Hershey’s CEO. “The reason is simple: we believe – and prove – that you can be a fierce competitor in the market while operating compassionately with teams of people who are about each other and their communities.”

“The Shared Goodness Promise is to see every day as a chance to be successful in a way that makes a positive difference.”

The Shared Goodness Promise ties the company’s business success to initiatives that positively impact people, communities and the environment. These include:

- Nourish one million minds by 2020. Shared Futures works with nutrition programs that help children around the world learn and succeed in school. In 2017, the company nourished 208,072 children, which included producing and providing the vitamin-fortified snack ViVi to 52,913 schoolchildren in the Ivory Coast and Ghana. 
 
- Invest in brands and business models that make a difference in the world. As Hershey focuses on becoming an innovative snacking powerhouse, it has invested in becoming an increasingly socially responsible organization. As part of Shared Business, the company’s goal is to ensure that the ingredients that go into its products are responsibly sourced. The company has already made strides: 75 percent of the cocoa and 50 percent of the coconut it sources are certified as sustainable, and 55,000 farmers in West Africa are enrolled in Hershey’s Learn to Grow sustainable agriculture programs.
 
- Protect biodiversity and safeguard natural environments. Hershey is working towards evidence-based targets to reduce its overall impact on the environment while encouraging its suppliers to adopt sustainable growing techniques. In 2017, the company began focusing on reforestation, including a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant more than 133,000 trees in the US.
 
- Enhance the lives of 10 million people. Building on its years of experience supporting the communities where Hershey employees live and work, Hershey’s new Shared Communities will invest in communities where the company operates by supporting basic needs to care for vulnerable community members; advancing education and training opportunities to support the workforce of tomorrow; and promoting inclusive civic, cultural and economic development initiatives that bring community members together. In 2017, Hershey donated US$11.9 million in cash and US$8.6 million in products, while its employees volunteered 130,737 hours in their communities. 
 
- Continue making Hershey a great place to work. In 2017, the company had 50 percent female representation on its executive committee and 77 percent of its workforce reported being engaged at work.

“The Shared Goodness Promise aims to make a difference in the lives of thousands of people around the world, from the West African farmers growing the cocoa used in our products to the employees in our facilities in the United States,” says Jeff King, Senior Director of Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Social Innovation at Hershey. 

“It helps us to focus our resources and the talents of our people – whether they’re nutrition, manufacturing or finance experts – in ways that are a making a powerful difference in the lives of individuals and entire communities.”