Purpose-driven food and beverage company achieved an increased B Corporation® score, showcasing year-over-year progress
White Plains, NY, and Louisville, CO, October 17, 2024 — Danone North America, one of the largest, purpose-driven food and beverage companies, announced today it has been recertified as a B Corporation® (B Corp™) for the second time since its initial certification in 2018. This designation reaffirms the company’s commitment to high environmental and social responsibility standards, transparency and legal accountability while delivering continued economic value for shareholders.
Danone North America Public Benefit Corporation (DNA PBC) — which includes Danone U.S., Nutricia North America, Danone Ventures, Danone Waters of America and Happy Family Organics, among others — increased its score from the last recertification by 7% to 103 in 2024, placing it among the highest-scoring enterprise food & beverage companies in the U.S.
To achieve this rating, DNA PBC advanced progress against several key priorities that ladder up to Danone’s Global Impact Journey, the company’s ambitious sustainability framework. The framework is articulated around three pillars — Nature, Health and People and Communities — where Danone can deliver the most value to its ecosystem of partners. Examples of improvements over the past three years include:
- Nature: Danone’s greenhouse gas emission reduction targets were verified by the Science Based Targets initiative and the company became one of the first food and beverage companies to set 1.5°C reduction forest, land and agriculture goals (FLAG) across its value chain.
- Health: Danone North America plays a vital role in supporting the USDA Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), advocating for its funding, modernization and expansion for over a decade. This includes innovating to ensure products meet WIC’s nutritional standards and supporting the USDA’s new Food Package Rule to enable consumers to access even more nutrient-dense foods under the program. Additionally, Danone’s Nutricia North America brand gained recognition from B Lab for its work supporting underserved communities, specifically by ensuring low-income individuals can access specialized medical foods at little or no cost through health insurance, government programming, or the Patient Assistance Program.
- People and Communities: Danone North America continues to build on its commitment to employee well-being. The company offers up to six months of paid parental leave, comprehensive healthcare and employee benefits to meet individual needs and life circumstances, and access to nutrition programs.
“Our B Corp™ certification is just one of the many ways we hold ourselves accountable to our mission to bring health through food to as many people as possible,” said Melanie Chow Li, Vice President, Mission & Sustainability at Danone North America. “I am incredibly proud of the efforts to complete the recertification — and improve our score once again in the process. Purpose is inherently built into our business model at Danone. The resilience and growth of our business is dependent on our ability to bring nutritious, delicious, and high-quality food in the most sustainable way - this is what sets us apart from other companies.”
Danone has a long-standing history of purpose-driven business. More than 50 years ago, former Global CEO Antoine Riboud introduced Danone’s “Dual Project” — a trailblazing vision that prioritized both shareholder and societal value. In 2018, Danone North America took this vision a step further and codified its purpose by becoming a public benefit corporation and one of the largest B Corps™ in the world.
Danone Global has been a pioneer of the B Corp™ movement since 2015, helping to drive a path to certification for multinational and publicly traded companies. Today, Danone’s global mission and Dual Project heritage remain at the forefront of all business decisions. Danone Global aspires to have all of its global employees covered by B Corp certification by 2025. For more information on Danone North America’s B Corp™ Certification, visit https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/find-a-b-corp/company/danone-north-america/.
About Danone North America
Danone North America is a purpose-driven company and an industry leader in the food and beverage category. As a Certified B Corporation®, Danone North America is committed to the creation of both economic and social value, while nurturing natural ecosystems through regenerative agriculture. Our strong portfolio of brands includes: Activia®, DanActive®, Danimals®, Dannon®, evian®, Follow Your Heart®, Happy Family® Organics, International Delight®, Light + Fit®, Oikos®, Silk®, So Delicious® Dairy Free, STōK® Cold Brew Coffee, Too Good & Co™, and YoCrunch®. With approximately 6,000 employees and 15 production locations across the U.S. and Canada, Danone North America’s mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible. For more information on Danone North America, visit danonenorthamerica.com.
