Please
Rotate your device for a better experience!

Arcor Group's 2017 Sustainability Report, Support for its Commitment towards Sustainable Development

The Company presented its 13th Sustainability Report where it shows its commitment to fostering a sustainable business management.

Buenos Aires, May 2018 – Arcor Group released its latest Sustainability Report to share with all its stakeholders the progress made in 2017 as regards its contribution to the generation of economic, social and environmental value.

With this new edition, the Company goes one step further and aligns itself with the best reporting practices: the document applies the commitments contained in Arcor Group's Sustainability Policy as an internal chapter structure, and reports –according to each one of them – on the progress made regarding the issues prioritized by the Group. Also, in this Report we migrated to the new GRI Standards (Global Reporting Initiative), and in the table at the end of the document, it includes the relationship with the United Nations Global Compact criteria for an advanced level of COP (Communication on Progress) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

The first chapter introduces the new structure of the Company's three business units, integrating the sustainability perspective: consumer food products, agribusiness and packaging. A milestone that stands out is the acquisition of Zucamor, which strengthens the positioning of Arcor Group's Packaging Business in including into its business portfolio the manufacture of virgin fiber papers, sack kraft and paper bags, and makes it one of the largest producers of recycled paper in South America. The progress made on sustainability governance, management and monitoring is also reported, with 820 initiatives included in the Group’s 13 operation plans, and more than 3,000 employees subject to sustainability goals.

Within the framework of its General Commitment to Sustainable Development and through different programs, projects and initiatives carried out jointly with the stakeholders involved in each step, the Report covers Arcor Group's value chain. In the supply area, we should highlight the Sustainable Agriculture Program, which includes the management of 12 key supplies and more than 1,3 million tons of raw materials, and the REconocer (REcognize) Program – Sustainability and Business Quality Index for Suppliers — ; as regards processing, the certified industrial process and the 20 Community Relations Committees that manage Company's impacts on the areas where it operates and promotes the integral development of their communities; in the distribution and commercialization fields, the more than 100 logistics sustainability initiatives in Distribution Centers stand out. In the consumer sector, we should also highlight the Consumer Service (SAC, as per its initials in Spanish) as a fundamental means of dialog to generate close and responsible bonds, the launch of the Puente (Bridge) Project, which seeks to bring the Company closer to low-income consumers with the aim of developing value proposals; and for the end-of-life (the final stage of the chain), the creation of a multidisciplinary Packaging Work Group and the ongoing support given to the “Antônio Da Costa Santos” Recyclers' Cooperative.

The chapter on Environmental Care presents environmental conservation practices, focusing on the most significant issues for the Company’s business: water, energy and packaging materials. As regards water, the investments for the treatment of liquid effluents should be mentioned; in the case of energy, the Electric Energy Management (Featured Case Study of the chapter), and in relation to packaging materials, 100% of the paper used at PEFC- or FSC-certified plants.

In terms of Respect for and Protection of Human and Labor Rights, in 2017 the Group continued to work towards diversity, inclusion and generational coexistence, as well as employee training and development. The Featured Case Study of the chapter deals with the Responsible Inclusive Purchases Program, which aims to promote the economic and social inclusion of suppliers with fewer opportunities to access the market in the Company’s supply chain.

Finally, in the chapter on Active Life and Healthy Nutrition, we report on the progress made within the framework of the Food and Healthy Lifestyle Strategy, to promote active life, and to work on the composition of its products, based on the development of the Arcor System of Nutritional Profiles (SPNA). This year we continued to consolidate our commitment to the celiac community with a great innovation: the first chocolate tablets without T.A.C.C. (wheat, oats, barley and rye). This section focuses on the “Aprendiendo a Disfrutar” (Learning to Enjoy) Program, which aims to create healthy nutrition habits and promote an active life from a young age.

In the context of the presentation of the Sustainability Report, the third Regional Social Investment Report of Arcor Foundation Argentina, Arcor Foundation Chile and Brazil Arcor Institute was also released. During 2017, more than AR$ 101 million were invested and 190 projects were supported, reaching more than 123,000 children and 157,000 adults. For more information, visit: www.fundacionarcor.org/2017/informe/.

For the first time, each chapter of the Report includes the views of experts who share their vision on the priority issues defined by Arcor Group, providing a broader context to the sustainability goals set by the Company and its contribution to continuous improvement. In order to strengthen its commitment to providing concise and friendly information, once again the Company published a four-panel brochure with the main highlights of the Report.  This information is available at http://www.arcor.com/biblioteca-virtual.

 

 

Related articles

Institutional

International Chocolate Day: a rich and nutritious food

Institutional

1-01-2017

An Effluent Treatment Plant with Social Impact on Arroyito…

Institutional

5-07-2018

10 Things You Didn't Know about Arcor’s History

Institutional

9-10-2018

Arcor leaves its mark on the history of the B20