In 1919, a man by the name of Isaac Carasso manufactured the first Danone yogurt product. Shortly thereafter, Isaac began selling yogurt to pharmacies in Barcelona, Spain while targeting children with digestive issues. Ten years later in 1929, Isaac’s son Daniel Carasso founded Danone in Paris, France. In order to differentiate his business from the competition, Daniel used the health advantages of Danone yogurt as a basis for his strategy (CSR). Dannon is a U.S. subsidiary of Danone, which is among the top tier in manufacturing and distributing dairy products and beverages internationally. Dannon has experienced a great deal of success in the industry as it is currently the leading brand of yogurt in the world. With approximately 1,300 employees, Dannon offers roughly 100 different types of dairy products to consumers. Currently there are four plants across the United States including White Plains, NY, Minster, OH, Fort Worth, TX, and West Jordan, UT. Aside from Dannon’s successl in its distribution of product, its core values of nutrition and health, nature and people help to bring satisfaction to Americans across the nation (CSR). Danone’s mission statement, “To bring health through food to as many people as possible,” signifies the social values of the company and commitment to its customers (Case Study). Danone’s social responsibility is vital to the purpose of the organization and is broken down into three main areas: Nutrition and Health, People, and Nature.
Nutrition and Health The Danone Institutes, a nonprofit organization, was developed in 1991 to assist with public health, especially that of children. With the assistance of scientists and educators, new ideas with regards to health and nutrition are developed and disseminated to many. As the United States has been going through somewhat of an economic “depression” in recent years, the institutes held a webinar entitled, “Maintaining School Wellness during Tight Budget Times” (Case Study). By 2010, a total of 18 Danone Institutes were operating over 800 projects, which cost well over 16 million Euro to fund.
People
Danone continually attempts to improve performance of personnel within the organization. In doing this, Danone developed a system of performance evaluation called, “The Danone Way.” Managers are able to review and reward the efforts of their employees through different scopes including environmentally, ethically, etc. Danone also makes it a priority to accommodate its consumers and the communities that they live in. Danone made advances in its products by changing the formula on hundreds of products in order to make them healthier for the consumer. Aside from benefitting consumers via the means of its product, Danone spent 5-6 million Euro on sponsorships, local events, donations, and emergency aid relief.
Nature
Danone sets goals and strives to meet these targets on a daily basis. One program, “Sensible Plants,” called for a reduction of water, energy, and packaging weight by 30%, 20%, and 10% respectively. All goals have been reached with the exception of water consumption which will soon be achieved. Danone has spent an overwhelming 90 million Euro on helping the environment and will continue down the same path in the years to come.