Sustainability and corporate social responsibility are broad concepts with many facets. The different definitions used for CSR have grown closer together in recent years. The most widely used approach is Triple P – People, Planet and Profit – that provides a basis on which businesses, government agencies and NGOs can implement their programmes. The term ‘sustainability’ is also being used more often as a peg on which to hang CSR-related activities. However, the dual meaning of the term ‘sustainability’ can give rise to confusion among consumers.
We recognise in our vision the definition of CSR preferred by MVO-Nederland, the Dutch CSR platform. Striving for both profit and continuity is perhaps the ultimate form of corporate social responsibility: if our company ceased to exist, our employees would have no jobs, our suppliers would have fewer customers, our customers would have fewer suppliers, our shareholders would have no shares and the government would have less tax revenue.
We seek to achieve this objective by focusing primarily on the customer. The customer always comes first, because the customer enables all the other stakeholders to benefit. While pursuing this strategy, we must continue to generate an attractive return for shareholders, fulfil our corporate social responsibility and provide development opportunities for our employees. We enable our suppliers to grow sales of their products and introduce new products. Society benefits from growing employment and rising tax revenue. We strive to reduce our environmental impact by taking full account of the environment in our purchasing procedures and agreements and our investments in property, plant and equipment. Corporate social responsibility is a key consideration in decision-making based on our strategy – not as an end in itself, but because it is essential to sustaining profitability and preserving continuity.
Some years ago, we set out our vision of CSR in a document entitled ‘Van rationaal moeten naar emotioneel willen’ (From rational necessity to emotional preference), in which we made it clear that, for Sligro Food Group, corporate social responsibility is the latter, not the former, based on many years’ striving to build long-term relationships with our customers, employees, partners and suppliers.
We are still convinced that long-term relationships enhance the quality of cooperation, engender trust and make working together more pleasant. Long-term relationships generate a good return and provide a strong basis for continuity. We believe that corporate social responsibility is an appropriate form of cooperation based on emotional preference. From rational necessity to emotional preference is also a theme that fits well with the stage we have now reached: the transition from consciousness-raising to practical implementation. As thinking about the CSR implications of decisions and wanting to make the right choices becomes second nature within the organisation, corporate social responsibility is increasingly assuming a permanent place and becoming established within the group.
Code of Conduct
Sligro Food Group has a Code of Conduct which applies to all its employees and subsidiaries. The Code has been adopted by Sligro Food Group’s Executive Board and approved by its Supervisory Board and Works Council. The Code sets out the rules relating to:
- legislation and regulations
- health, safety and environment
- integrity
- fairness
- reporting of suspected irregularities
- company property
- business partners
- conflicting business activities
- records
- confidentiality
The full text of the Code of Conduct can be found in Corporate Governance on this website.
Whistleblower’s policy
Sligro Food Group occupies a significant position in society and our employees are the face we present to the outside world. As well as on the commercial effectiveness of our operations, Sligro Food Group’s success also stands or falls on the confidence which the outside world places in us. Confidence can only be built up through professional conduct and integrity.
Being fully aware of its social responsibilities, Sligro Food Group seeks not only to comply as closely as possible with the applicable legislation and regulations and the Corporate Governance Code, but also to respect socially accepted norms and standards. We have set out our norms and standards in a Code of Conduct that applies to all employees. All Sligro Food Group employees are expected immediately to report any material breach of primary or secondary legislation, the Code of Conduct or other guidelines applicable within Sligro Food Group and any instance of dubious or fraudulent bookkeeping, theft or acceptance of inducements. Sligro Food Group gives an undertaking that there will be no reprisals against any employee who reports a breach on the basis of reasonable information. All reports will be treated in strict confidence and investigated as quickly as possible.
The full text of the whistleblower’s policy can be found in Corporate Governance on this website.
Purchasing policy
Buying and selling goods is the primary function of a wholesale and retail business like Sligro Food Group. We purchase a vast range of products, both food and non-food, comprising some 60,000 different items from over 1,800 suppliers in 36 countries around the world, for both our food retail and foodservice operations. In both businesses we aim to offer our customers best quality, wide choice and value for money. We apply the principles of sustainable business practice to both product selection and supplier selection. Within the constraints of local primary and secondary legislation, we aim to strike the right balance between people, planet and profit. In making their choices, our buyers have to weigh many different factors, taking into account issues such as child labour, food miles, animal welfare, political climate and environmental impact. We apply the following general principles:
We require our suppliers to respect their employees’ rights, provide safe working conditions, cause the least possible environmental harm and respect animal welfare. In the interests of our customers’ health and welfare, product safety is non-negotiable. In 2010, to safeguard these principles in countries with a high risk profile, we became affiliated to BSCI, a non-profit organisation set up to promote clear regulation and monitor corporate social responsibility. More information can be found in the Objectives and safeguards section of this website.
Relationships with suppliers
The success of the policy outlined above depends on our forming constructive relationships with reliable suppliers. We seek to build long-term relationships with our suppliers, because we acknowledge that our success is linked to theirs. Treating people as we ourselves would wish to be treated is one of our core values, and we put it into practice in our relationships with our suppliers. Working together, we develop all kinds of products and concepts, not just in the more obvious field of food and non-food products, but also in training, reintegration support, printing, construction and transport. Our policy is informed by the conviction that ‘if you don’t share, you can’t grow‘. That means more than negotiating the best possible purchase terms and conditions. Today, the balance between cost-awareness and partnership is vitally important. Mutual trust, familiarity with our way of working and our expectations and requirements are key factors here, and in many cases we have an implicit understanding of each other’s needs. To arrive at that point, we always invest a great deal of extra time and energy at the start of a relationship, because we know it will be repaid in the longer term.
Contact with VBDO
The Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (Vereniging van Beleggers voor Duurzame Ontwikkeling or VBDO) was present at Sligro Food Group’s General Meeting of Shareholders on 17 March 2010, where it asked several concrete questions about the implementation of our sustainability policy and made a number of suggestions relating to reporting. We appreciate VBDO’s interest in and engagement with our company and have taken its suggestions on board. Some of these have already been incorporated in this website.
Next steps
In some areas we are just starting out on our journey, while in others, such as the sourcing of sustainable fish products, our views are already well developed and we are sometimes even trailblazers. By now it is clear that CSR is no longer just hype, but has itself become a permanent part of corporate activities and is here to stay. In our view, a CSR report is not just a ‘good news’ show, but also an opportunity for us to demonstrate what we have consciously chosen to do or indeed not yet to do. Just a few years ago, CSR was something that companies could use to distinguish themselves from their competitors, but now it has become a precondition for commercial operations. Further progress may be impeded or facilitated by current economic conditions.