The France-based Bonduelle Group said in a news release that its mission is to “inspire the transition” toward a plant-based diet.
A family-owned company founded in 1853, Bonduelle markets its products in nearly 100 countries through brands including Bonduelle, Cassegrain, Globus, Del Monte, Ready Pac Foods and Arctic Gardens.
At the presentation of its first half-year financial results for the 2020-21 fiscal year on Feb. 26, the Bonduelle Group presented its mission, which is: “We inspire the transition toward a plant-based diet to contribute to people’s well-being and planet health”.
Submitted to the shareholders’ vote, the mission statement was very widely approved (99.91%) and is now part of the company’s articles of association, according to the release.
The mission, the release said, is intended to guide the group’s future strategic choices and reinforces Bonduelle’s long-term vision. It reaffirms, the release said, the company’s determination to play an active role in the socio-economic and environmental challenges of today and tomorrow.
Committed to the B Corp certification process and a founding member of the B Movement Builders, Bonduelle reaffirms its commitment to a resilient business model that creates a positive impact for all its stakeholders, according to the company.
The mission is both “the starting point of a very engaging approach for the group but also the formalization of what the company has been working towards for several decades,” according to the release.
In order to advance the company’s mission, the release said a roadmap is currently being drawn up, focusing on the three major transitions in which Bonduelle is involved:
- The food transition, because more and more people need to be fed healthily while preserving resources, and because plants are the solution for doing so,;
- The agro-ecological transition, because plant production must increase to feed a growing population, and because natural resources and arable land are under threat (biodiversity, soil depletion, climate change);
- The socio-economic transition, because the commercial, financial but also human activity of companies (as employer and consumer prescriber) generates an impact on society, the economy, health and the environment.
The B Corp ambition for 2025 accompanies the group in its desire to become a “best for the world” company according to the release.
Bonduelle also relies on the sustainability of its business model, which the company said is inseparable from the positive impact.
“Our mission will serve as a compass and assist us identify and clarify our focus, battlegrounds and sacrifices,” Guillaume Debrosse, CEO of the Bonduelle Group, said in the release. “It is inseparable from our economic project because we can have no positive impact unless we are economically viable and conversely, there is no economic project without contributing to sustainability issues. It is a strong dual-edged ambition to create value for our entire ecosystem.”
