WDIA 2015’s best corporate social responsibility initiative

As the number of forward-thinking companies that embed corporate social responsibility into their business operations rises every year, the best CSR report or initiative category continues to welcome exciting new models that create shared values for businesses and societies.

Operation Smile Project from Fair Cape Dairies is an organisation that provides free operations for children, and in some cases adults, who are born with a cleft lip or palate by collecting milk lids and donations via pledge buttons on the company’s website, while Pact donates crates for the storage and transportation of foodstuffs to the food rescue organisation OzHarvest which delivers surplus food to 600 charities across Australia.

Yili’s breast milk nutrition improvement and infant nutrition support initiative on the other hand created the first breast milk data bank in China, which includes over 120 breast milk components with the aim to provide better nutrition for mothers and infants.

Dedicated to giving back to the community with a different approach, Yuengling’s ice cream’s scoop squad donates at least 3% of profits to charitable organisations as well as donating ice cream and merchandise to a variety of organisations, while Lion Dairy & Drinks’ Goodness Project is a commitment to naturalness. Based on science and national and local standards, the company has developed three categories: best, good and treat, and aims to shift from 70% of sales volume in the best and good categories to 80% by 2019.

Cabot Creamery Cooperative supported positive change by launching a web-based platform, Reward Volunteers 6.0, which tracks and shares the time volunteers spend helping others and promoting volunteering.

Finally, on the sustainability front, PureCircle’s comprehensive farm-to-gate stevia sustainability report details how the company has anchored sustainability around its 18,000 farmer base across three continents. It outlines the challenges and sets a path for the industry to adopt sustainable practices. Wyke Farms’ 100% Green plan makes a total commitment to be one of the greenest brands in grocery, with an investment in their on-site bio-gas plant, which converts 75,000 tonnes of biodegradable farm and dairy waste per year into energy. Solar panelling across farm buildings generates energy, which runs the milk cooling equipment. A £1.3m investment in commissioning a water filtering and recovery plant allows 95% of waste water to be reused.