Danone, goal: zero waste and zero emissions

Fabrizio Gavelli, President and CEO of Danone Italy and Greece, what does the concept of “One Planet. One Health” mean to you?
“‘One Planet, One Health’ is Danone’s vision and aims to highlight how we belong to a single ecosystem in which each element is interconnected with another. Our behaviors have consequences not only on us, on our health, but also on society and the planet. Danone puts health at the center of its business, which aims to bring nutrition to as many people as possible, enhancing individuals and communities”.

Why for Danone is sustainability declined in economic, environmental, social and ethical terms?
“For us, the strong interconnection between the economic sustainability of a company and the need for the latter to have a regenerative impact on the environment and on the communities in which it operates is clear, always trying to position ourselves as a point of reference also for institutions and other companies, as in the case of our policies to support parenting and caregivers.Regarding environmental sustainability, in 2020 we launched a local sustainability project, Zero al Cubo, which aims to achieve, within the local borders of Danone Italia, zero waste, zero emissions and zero packaging in kind”.

What do you mean by “business as a force for good”? Many would say they are conflicting terms.
“In Danone, the economic objective is not unrelated to the environmental and social one. This is why as Danone Italia in 2020 we became a Benefit Company, integrating environmental and social objectives within our Statute and we obtained the BCorp certification. When we are talking about ‘business as a force to act for good’ we are referring to a model which provides that our assets, i.e. our brands with their characteristics, are linked to locally relevant causes, through credible partners and that thanks to this union manage to grow together. With Danette for example, we started from an asset such as the “joy” to which the product is associated, and we decided to link it to a social cause, an ambitious project such as that of PizzAut. Here the brand has thus “donated” to PizzAut – Nico Acampora’s project of a pizzeria completely run by autistic kids founded in 2017 in the province of Milan – his jingle with an initiative of joy and music to also financially support the opening of the new restaurant in Monza, inaugurated in the presence of President Mattarella last April. Danone Italia has concretely contributed to the realization of the project conceived by PizzAut, with Danette’s jingle, adapted by Nico’s boys into a music video in perfect PizzAut style”.

Why does a company that produces food today need such a complex story of values? Have consumers changed?
“Companies have an important role within the communities in which they operate, a great responsibility towards people, those who work for the company, those who buy its products, and those who in one way or another are part of it touch. Today there is the awareness that we must all contribute to change and respond each with his own piece. We at Danone believe that companies can do their part starting from what they do best, i.e. the business itself, which however, it can no longer set itself only economic objectives, but precisely social and environmental ones, in order to have an impact and to leave a legacy for the future”.