More Ambitious Sustainability Reporting Called for in Food Industry

Danisco has just received the top grade A+ for its latest sustainability report. This grade is awarded for a company’s detailed and open reporting about both the good and not-so-good results

19/06/09 A batch of international companies and NGOs participate in a conference held at Danisco, Copenhagen, to debate how the food sector’s sustainability reporting ambitions.

Ambitions are currently being ramped up in food businesses around the world. A batch of international companies and NGOs participate in a conference held at Danisco, Copenhagen, to debate how the food sector’s sustainability reporting ambitions could be ramped up and made more food specific. Eventually, this will benefit consumers, businesses, the environment, employees and suppliers alike.

Corporate sustainability reporting has become quite common in the past few years, but that does not imply that it should end up being a simple routine task. In consequence, existing rules and regulations under the voluntary Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) are being developed on an ongoing basis to improve the reporting and tackle new problems in the sustainability area.

’We need improved and more detailed reporting. At present we are making an effort to add more details about food safety, animal welfare and supply reliability to the guidelines, but we also intend to deal with areas such as energy and water consumption. And it is actually worthwhile for businesses to provide information about their ethical, social and environmental challenges, because it strengthens their credibility with customers,' says Liselotte Carlsen, Project Manager at Danisco.

Danisco has just received the top grade A+ for its latest sustainability report. This grade is awarded for a company’s detailed and open reporting about both the good and not-so-good results. This will sharpen focus on whether a business is open about, for instance, its energy consumption and sets improvement targets rather than on the actual size of its consumption.

Det Norske Veritas (DNV), the independent party verifying the report, confirmed that Danisco met the A+ requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). This is the top grade in this recognised reporting system. The GRI has been developed for voluntary use by companies reporting on their sustainability efforts. Only a limited number of companies in the world have achieved an A+ for their reports.

’At Danisco we are committed to openness, a high information level and transparency. Therefore, I am delighted that we attained an A+. This is recognition of our efforts,’ says Liselotte Carlsen, Project Manager at Danisco’s Sustainable Development department. ‘We have previously been recognised for our reporting by the Carbon Disclosure Project and the UN Global Compact, and by getting an A+ we have demonstrated that we continuously develop our sustainability reporting.’

The report contains information on, among other things, bio-based solutions for bioethanol and synthetic rubber and the mercury case at the former Grindstedværket in the 1960s and 1970s. In addition, the report provides information on our social and environmental efforts and on our new targets and initiatives in the sustainability field.

Besides Danisco, General Mills (USA), Bunge (Brazil), Nestlé (Switzerland), International Union for Conservation of Nature, Children’s Advocacy and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) participate in the GRI conference.