France

Danone

APPROACH AND KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

In December 2022, Danone issued its Forest Policy, committing to deliver verified deforestation and conversion free supply chains by 2025, while moving towards a forest positive future. It addresses all forms of deforestation and land conversion following the Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) definitions. Our teams made huge progress; by switching towards RSPO Segregated volumes (88% in 2023, 95% in 2023) but also maintaining a high level of traceability (99,3% of TTP, 99,8% in H1 2023). In 2023, Danone was recognized for the fifth year in a row as global environmental leader with triple 'A' score given by CDP - including A rating for Palm.

Roadblocks and solutions

Danone has committed to removing deforestation and conversion from its supply chain by 2025 on key commodities including palm. Achieving these targets will not be easy. Land use is driven by competing needs and interests, with many stakeholders involved, many of whom we do not deal with directly. Going beyond certification is key and collaboration sits at the heart of our approach by further investing within and beyond our supply chain and supporting systemic change by working with others via coalitions such as CGF-Forest positive Coalition and the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform – to drive lasting impact.

Action Plan for the next 5 years

Our action plan is structured using the 3 core pillars of our Forest policy:

Clean Supply chains: our target is 100% verified and fully traceable palm by 2025. We aim to achieve this by reaching the highest percentage of RSPO segregated palm (alongside 100% of traceability to mill and to plantation).
We will ensure our roadmap also aligns with regulations such as the EU Deforestation regulation.
Responsible Suppliers: we continue to engage with direct suppliers and monitor their progress against deforestation and conversion commitments.
Regeneration: we will expand our support for landscape projects which transform the palm sector like we already do by collaborating with the Livelihoods Fund for Family Farming since 2021 with a 10-year project to help 2,500 smallholder palm oil farmers achieve a sustainable transition in Sumatra island. but also by supporting the Siak Pelalawan Landscape Program since 2018. We believe that systemic change can only come through wider shifts in policy and society, where our voice in collaboration with others can drive lasting impact - including within coalitions such as CGF-Forest positive Coalition and the SAI Platform.