Stories and Smiles… Sharing Smiles! Made with Dairy Goodness, Bel’S Products Bring Smiles Every Day to the 120 Countries Where the Group Is Present
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BUSINESS AND CORPORATE Social Responsibility Report 2009 Fromageries Bel Head Offices 16, boulevard Malesherbes 75008 Paris Tel.:+33 (0)1 40 07 72 50 www.groupe-bel.com French corporation (société anonyme) with a share capital of €10,308,502.50 RCS Paris B 542 088 067 Stories and Smiles… Sharing smiles! Made with dairy goodness, Bel’s products bring smiles every day to the 120 countries where the Group is present. Its delightful and gourmet brands fly the colors of enthusiasm, a fundamental Bel value. ®, Whether consumers choose Bel’s® core brands, ®The Laughing Cow ® ® , and Boursin , or its local brands, Mini Babybel , Kiri , Leerdammer they appreciate the healthy pleasure and cheerfulness delivered by Profile those products. Bel’s story is a family story. Bel’s family-controlled ownership structure allows the Group to Contents combine long-term vision with lasting performance. In 2009, backed 04 Interview with Antoine Fiévet, by the commitment of its 11,500 employees, Bel generated sales of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer over m2.2 billion. 07 Bel’s approach to Corporate Social Responsibility 10 Corporate governance renewed 12 Earnings advance 14 Consumers 16 Sharing smiles and pleasure 18 Bringing dairy goodness 20 Close ties to consumers 22 The Laughing Cow® out of the box! 24 Local strategies to meet Group objectives 28 Employees 30 An organization closer to market 32 Development for all 34 A community to thrive in 36 Communities 38 The environment, a common property to be preserved 41 A dynamic for shared responsibility 42 Involvement in society’s challenges 44 Dashboards 46 CSR dashboard 54 Summary management report 56 Consolidated income statement 57 Consolidated balance sheet 58 Consolidated cash flow statement 3 Interview with Antoine Fiévet, Chairman and CEO Briefly, how would you explain that performance? Beyond the power of our brands and a growth strategy adapted to our various markets, the Group was able to lean on the commitment of its 11,500 employees. Day after day, around the world, they were mobilized enthusiastically and professionally to focus on clearly stated priorities. Day after day, around the world, our 11,500 employees Bel’s business model is resilient even in tough The anticipated recovery appears to be lagging years. What makes it unique and effective? in many countries. What’s the outlook for 2010 mobilize to make Bel’s business and the years ahead? plan come to life. Our business model is simple and clear. It is based on powerful, differentiated and universal Bel is a family-controlled company and it has brands that draw customers from all over the always taken the long-term view by focusing world. Our five international brands, which are on sustainable and profitable growth. In the central focus of our actions, are successful this area, we have set two ambitious goals year after year. to guarantee our independence and to You took operational command of Bel in 2009. prime the engine of our future expansion. How would you qualify the year’s results? I’m convinced that our potential for organic growth remains considerable. That potential First, we should look at the goals we set for ourselves a year ago, after a is first of all geographical, in terms of each particularly tough 2008, when we were affected by unfavorable raw material region where we are already present and the prices. We sought to regain volume growth momentum, restore our financial Our mission sets a very high bar for number of countries we have yet to conquer. position, and make our organization more flexible and responsive. It is also enhanced by our brands, which are These goals were met by the end of 2009, and the results have been very our actions vis-à-vis our customers, affordable, innovative and full of personality, satisfactory. Despite depressed consumer spending, we maintained our sales, employees and the communities in as well as the products we will launch grew our volumes and increased our profitability. Lastly, our balance sheet is which we operate. It’s the foundation of our tomorrow aimed at consumers with very healthy, which allows us to contemplate the future with confidence and ambition. modest purchasing power. corporate responsibility. But the year was marred by a deep recession. We live in a society that is questioning growth and its rationale. What’s your What impact did it have on Bel’s activities in different parts of the world? viewpoint and the company’s view on this subject? The situation we observed was mixed. activities outside Europe — in North The question of the purpose of growth is part of a wider discussion about the While Eastern European markets were America, despite difficult economic company’s role and responsibilities. particularly hard hit, Western Europe conditions as well, and in Africa, the The mission of our company is clear. It is, above all, sharing smiles with families, showed strong resilience with volumes of Middle East and Asia. The expansion smiles derived from the pleasure of sharing happy and big-hearted products, smiles all our major brands chalking up growth. outside our historical frontiers has now associated with dairy goodness. Our 2009 performance was fuelled, become a powerful avenue of growth This mission sets a very high bar for our actions vis-à-vis our customers, employees and above all, by the momentum of our for our Group. the communities in which we operate. It’s the foundation of our corporate responsibility. 4 5 Interview with Antoine Fiévet, Chairman and CEO Corporate social responsibility What does this mission mean for consumers? Every word in our mission statement is all Bel products, is what our loveable, happy important and refers to very precise objectives. and friendly brands bring to our customers. Dairy goodness refers to the quality, safety, Lastly, in trying to address all families, nutritional content, flavor, and taste of our we have affirmed our commitment to making products. Smiles, the distinctive signature of our products even more affordable. Corporate social responsibility makes just as much of a contribution as financial imperatives — they both go together. The mission also addresses the Group’s employees. How do you see Bel’s responsibility in this area? “Sharing smiles” is a promise primarily intended for our employees and their families, the 11,500 families of the Group worldwide. Our collective responsibility is to build a community based on mutual respect, where every individual can develop and grow, a community motivated and mobilized by a meaningful project, where everybody is sure of his ability to contribute, to play a real role. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is sometimes seen as a fad. What is it really at Bel? BEL’S APPROACH TO Even if it were a fad, and it made units. For others, we have us move forward, it would be opened the door and are moving CORPORATE SOCIAL beneficial. As for me, I believe in a common direction. sincerely that CSR makes just We approach these challenges as much of a contribution as with the enthusiasm that has RESPONSIBILITY financial imperatives — they both always inspired the men and go together. women of Bel. We are therefore determined, The mission Bel has assigned itself Perhaps as a sign of the times and ongoing while remaining modest. On some creates a very demanding framework turbulence in the world, the need for of the priorities we have outlined, for action. That framework is the meaning has become increasingly important significant progress has been for the public and all stakeholders, including made over the years, notably wellspring of the corporate social companies. It’s a phenomenon that has in terms of the environmental responsibility (CSR) policy clearly been amplified by the recent performance of our production accompanying the Group’s growth. economic crisis. And it is against this backdrop that Bel has sought to formalize its mission statement, its raison d’être and purpose: Sharing smiles with families by bringing the pleasure of dairy goodness. 6 7 Corporate social responsibility The 5 pillars guiding Bel’s approach to CSR Smiles play a key role in the various communities where Bel operates. The five pillars encompass all actions undertaken by Bel in the area of sustainable development.* 2. The brands’ social role Bel’s brands have a place in the family heart and they forge bonds between generations. The brands are 3. Environment 1. An affordable therefore well positioned as good and ecodesign nutritional allies of parents, to help them Bel implements benefit raise their children well and to solutions to reduce Bel keeps its promise to support them in important societal its environmental customers through a nutrition issues such as good nutrition, footprint by taking policy adapted to the dietary healthy living, physical exercise, into account all aspects challenges of the countries environmental protection, and of its products’ life cycles, From mission Deploying and measuring where the Group operates, and support for worthy causes. including raw material use by developing more affordable and selection, packaging, to responsibility The validity of a CSR policy must be assessed product ranges for the cheese manufacturing, on a measured basis of continued progress. populations most in need. distribution, and product Bel’s mission is demanding and part of a real This process involves several stages, including end of life. dynamic. It is the Group’s stated commitment to analyzing what already exists, setting priorities, its consumers, employees and the communities setting realistic and ambitious goals, preparing the where the company operates. As such, it helps corresponding action plans, and lastly measuring to identify all the associated responsibilities the progress made with key performance and to set priorities. indicators.