Global Action Platform and KPMG International Launch Initiative for Shared Prosperity with Global Shared Value Award™

At the 2016 Global Action Summit, hosted by Fareed Zakaria (CNN), Global Action Platform, in association with KPMG International presented the 2016 Global Shared Value Award to Danone.

The Global Shared Value Award recognizes and encourages corporations to address major societal challenges through innovative business strategy, that is, to create “shared value.”  The award recognizes private sector engagement and innovation that improve the quality of life and build prosperity for companies, individuals, communities, regions, and the world.

The award is presented annually at the Global Abundance Dinner, which serves as the closing ceremony of the Global Action Summit. 

Danone’s stated mission is to “bring health through food to as many people as possible.”  With sales of about 22B euros, Danone operates in 130 countries and employs approximately 100,000 people.  

In selecting Danone for the 2016 Global Shared Value Award, the independent award panel drawn from business, academic, and nonprofit leadership noted the company’s commitment to reconceiving products and markets through a 100M euro fund to support local initiatives with positive ESG impacts, which has funded 64 projects in 28 countries; its Nutricia Research programs that team with public/private/academic organizations in 55 countries to develop food and health innovations; and its high ranking on environmental, health, nutrition, packaging, and water related risk management. Presenters also noted Danone’s commitment to enable local cluster development through work with local farmers; and strong management commitment to shared value corporate strategy.

“For Danone, business is about value creation, in a way which goes beyond a traditional economic definition. Our belief is that long term, sustainable growth comes only through focusing on the benefits we can bring to the people, the cultures and the communities with whom we work. We constantly seek to align our vision of the world, our mission and our businesses: we believe we have a special responsibility, as expressed in our Manifesto, to help and support people in adopting healthier and more sustainable eating practices”, said Danone CEO Emmanuel Faber. 

Danone has a long heritage of balancing economic and social commitments, and I am proud that we are continuing to be recognized. This builds on our credentials as a responsible business, with Danone already a component of leading social responsibility indexes, including the FTSE4Good Index, Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Vigeo, and the Ethibel Sustainability Index.

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Danone Update

Most recently, Danone was recognized, along with only four other companies, by the United Nations for its global leadership in promoting gender equality and family health through the launch of a new global parenting policy.  Emmanuel Faber, Global CEOof Danone committed to implement a comprehensive parental policy offering, among other benefits, an 18-week gender neutral paid parental leave policy for the global work force as the Inaugural HeForShe Thematic Champion for Paid Parental Leave. As a result of this shared value initiative, Danone becomes a UN Women’s HeForShe Inaugural Thematic Champion – an honor awarded to those whose work is seen by the UN to be promoting gender equality around the world.

“At this critical transition in the national and global economy, Global Action Platform is honored to work with KPMG International in the presentation of this Award,” states Dr. Scott T. Massey, Founding Chairman and CEO.  “Our international alliance of universities and businesses are working to create scalable, sustainable solutions for abundant food, health, and prosperity for every person.  We see the Global Shared Value Award as an important way to advance these goals.  KPMG brings tremendous thought leadership and analytics that can deepen our understanding of shared value and help us expand its impact.”

“KPMG International is excited to be working with the Global Action Platform to recognize excellence in creating shared value. Business has a critical role to play, in partnership with civil society, governments and the development community in working towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Creating shared value, which is good news for business and the community, is an essential way of building towards the achievement of the SDGs” said Timothy A.A. Stiles, Global Chair of International Development Assistance Services, and KPMG

About Global Action Platform 

Global Action Platform is the leading university-business alliance to advance scalable, sustainable solutions for abundant food, health, and prosperity.  Global Action Platform contributes to achieving Sustainable Development Goals 1-3 and serves as the global think tank and convener for oneC1TY, a twenty-acre innovation park in Nashville, TN and as strategic global NGO partner for the Global Partnership for Sustainable Solutions-IPEU rural development project in the Philippines. Global Action Platform ongoing program activities are organized in four operating areas:  CONVENE:  a series of summits and forums for global leaders to build consensus for action; CHALLENGE:  impact investment funds to advance transformative, scalable business solutions; CONNECT:  online working groups and data analytic tools; and COMMUNICATE:  a series of annual publications, online educational and investment platforms, and social media broadcasts.  The ultimate goal is to create a world of abundance for all people, so that every single individual has a chance to thrive. http://globalactionplatform.org. 

About the Global Action Summit

The Global Action Summit, hosted by Fareed Zakaria, is the most dynamic and innovative annual forum focused on food, health, and prosperity for today’s global leaders.  The aim of the Summit is to create, guide and facilitate leadership initiatives. Summit participants include senior-level business leaders, research scientists, and government officials, leaders of global agencies, NGO directors, and Summit Fellows.

About KPMG International

KPMG is a global network of professional services firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. KPMG operates in 155 countries and has 174,000 people working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such.

About KPMG’s International Development Assistance Services (IDAS) practice

KPMG’s IDAS professionals are among the most experienced providers of services to the public and development sectors in countries and regions where economies and finances are emerging.  With local expertise in member firms worldwide, KPMG IDAS professionals work closely with emerging market stakeholders – government, civil society and private sector – to create sustainable change and effective, accountable service delivery. KPMG’s IDAS practice encompasses services in four major areas: Enhancing Impact, Ensuring Value-for-Money, Driving Accountability, and Advancing Service Delivery. 

For more information, please visit: www.kpmg.com/idas & www.danone.com/en