Good afternoon. I would like to start by thanking the organisers of Green week for inviting Cadbury to participate today.

Transcription

1 Good afternoon. I would like to start by thanking the organisers of Green week for inviting Cadbury to participate today. It is a privilege to have been invited to speak at this important event. Let me quickly introduce myself and my business. My name is Chris Van Steenbergen, [I am Belgian and therefore I can say that I feel right at home in the heart of the EU]. I am Europe President.. for Cadbury. PLEASE CHANGE TO THE SLIDE 2 Now who is Cadbury? For some of you in the room it is chocolate, British and purple. All three are true but I particularly ask you to remember the purple bit because that s relevant for later. We are a truly European confectionery business and I am sure each one of you can identify with at least one of our great brands. We make chocolate, gum and candy with brands such as Hollywood, Trident, Halls, Carambar, Malabar, Stimorol, Wedel, Kandia Excelent, V6 and Bassett s and we have the number 1 or 2 position in terms of market share in nearly every EU market. Our products are of the best quality and delicious but I am not here today to persuade you of that. I am here to give you an overview of how business is responding to the environmental challenges it faces. Of course I will speak about the business I know best, Cadbury, and 1

2 how we are addressing them but I know we are representative of all businesses that are doing their best to respond. The environment is not a new area for business. Most businesses companies have had environmental programmes in place for decades to minimise pollution and their impact on their local environments. Waste, water and energy reduction programmes have long been a welcome source of cost savings. However, over the last few years, there has been a growing recognition of the need for greater action on climate change. Business leaders are recognising that they need to go further and faster. To borrow from Al Gore, this impetus stemmed from some Inconvenient truths. Inconvenient truths like the scientific recognition that global warming is real, it s already happening and the evidence is overwhelming and undeniable. Inconvenient Truths like the economic, social and political consequences that climate change will bring, if we don t act now. Inconvenient Truths like realising business is far from immune from these consequences. At Cadbury, we have seen at first hand the effect of a changing climate. Severe droughts in Australia and at the other end of the scale the flooding of our manufacturing sites in Northern England the first in its 100 year history. We are seeing that the effects of climate change have major business consequences. If we can t produce 2

3 because we can t use enough water or we have too much water, we can t sell. Another truth is that our consumers also increasingly believe that climate change is occurring. Our customers - the retailers - do. The biggest ask us what we are doing to minimise our environmental impact. They are concerned because consumers are starting to be more concerned about the environmental record of businesses. Consumers can choose to make the difference when they shop. So these inconvenient truths are making businesses act. They are acting because it makes business sense. Those leading the change are seeing not just the challenges but also the opportunities of taking action on climate change. For hundreds of years businesses have provided the jobs the taxes that fund public services and the profits that provide pensions and savings for a rainy day. Today, business is the most accountable that it s ever been. And every day we are effectively voted on by our customers and shareowners as they choose to buy our brands or invest in our shares. We can only be sustainable as businesses if they continue to believe we can create value for them - through financial returns or by producing great brands they can trust. 3

4 To secure the sustainability of our businesses we therefore have to take opportunity from the big challenges in front of us. Let me use some examples from the past from Cadbury. Right from the beginning the Cadbury founders wanted to be a force for good in a troubled world an asset to the neighbourhood, and they put their money where their mouths were. Cadbury was founded by Quakers at a time when there was concern about the damaging affect of excessive alcohol consumption. The Cadbury brothers sold drinking chocolate as an alternative. In the 1870s, the Cadbury brothers believed that they could not have productive workers who lived in slum accommodation. They took opportunity of this challenge and created a healthier and more productive living and working environment for employees and their families by building the famous Bournville factory in a garden in the UK. In 1908 in the face of allegations of slavery that existed in the plantations of Sao Tomé Cadbury established the cocoa industry in Ghana creating a sustainable source of our vital raw material. Today Ghana provides 70% of our cocoa. In the 1920s, responding to the calls for labour reform Cadbury was the first company to offer half-day Saturdays to its workers. They knew this would differentiate them as employers. 4

5 The Cadbury founders weren t philanthropists. They were successful business people. They reacted to these challenges because it was good for business. They wanted to maintain their leadership and get maximum value for the business. They were performance driven but values led. At Cadbury, we see sustainability as a competitive advantage IF we give it the priority and support in our business and view it as a key strategy for long term success. So, when faced with the challenge of the effects of climate change on our business it was a natural decision for us to engage all parts of our business to act in an environmentally responsible manner. So what are we actually doing? Remember the purple bit? We have developed our company s contribution to tackling climate change through a programme we have called PURPLE GOES GREEN. PLEASE CHANGE TO THE SLIDE 3 We re performance driven. Our overriding objective is to create superior shareowner returns. This means we can t change all our manufacturing and distribution processes and offices overnight. There are short term financial pressures that prevent us from making quick changes to our manufacturing sites to achieve our targets. However, 5

6 there is more we CAN DO then things we can t. There are always ways we can convert challenges into opportunities. With our Purple Goes Green programme, we have set a vision for our company. We have committed to a target of 50% reduction in our absolute carbon emissions by the year We believe we are the first food manufacturer to do this. We have also set targets on reducing packaging and water use. We have also made a commitment to campaign for action on climate change inside our business AND externally. Let me stress this is a VISION. We are on a journey to get there and gaining experience of how to do this everyday. Today I would like to share some of the things we have learnt so far that we think can make a climate change strategy successful. Firstly, business must mainstream sustainability by making it a part of its overall business strategy. PLEASE CHANGE TO THE SLIDE 4 6

7 Our sustainability commitments, which include our environmental targets form a part of Cadbury s overall business strategy. In our supply chain this means we can incorporate sustainability into our business decisions. For example, by choosing the most energy efficient choices when upgrading or replacing machinery or by purchasing energy from renewable sources. We are determined to reduce the energy intensity of our global operations and our absolute environmental footprint we also need to constantly reduce our costs. So by incorporating all these elements in our strategy we have a win win. By gradually reducing the cardboard packaging of our Easter eggs, we will not only save on packaging waste but on millions of Euros spent on packaging materials as well. Across the world we have examples of factories where we are using natural resources such as solar power on an unprecedented scale, or have invested in programmes to reduce our water consumption to the lowest levels possible through process changes and reclamation. Secondly, we have learnt that businesses can inspire employees and make them demand action. PLEASE CHANGE TO THE SLIDE 5 7

8 Our Purple Goes Green programme includes an internal campaign. We saw the opportunity to channel the energy of the environmental enthusiasts within our company our inside activists, who have come together in the form of our Green Advocates Network. Our Green Advocates develop programmes and run activities to raise awareness of our Purple Goes Green targets and climate change and provide guidance for our people on what they can do in their daily lives to make a difference to the environment. The Green Advocates are volunteers ranging from directors to managers to graduates who are passionate about environmental issues and have given their time to making an impact within our company. This network has over 100 members, spread across 25 sites from Colombia to Australia to Poland to UK to Singapore to Malaysia. We have learnt that this does cause some nervousness. After all internal activists demanding change does not necessarily go down that well in a business. However sometimes in pursuit of the highest standards accountability from the people that know you best is necessary. And it s not without benefits. Awareness leads to action and that s why the work of these green advocates will go a long way in driving environmental change within 8

9 the company. Importantly it s this kind of employee engagement that will keep talented people engaged and involved in the company ensuring the leadership of Cadbury continues to be responsible. Our third observation is that we can mobilise suppliers, customers and consumers to take action along with us. PLEASE CHANGE TO THE SLIDE 6 Business is the critical wealth creator in society. Collaboration and advocacy from business is critical if we, as a society, are going to address the huge challenge of climate change. Businesses need to consider all parts of their supply chain and the influence their collaboration and advocacy can have. I have already mentioned our customers who influence us and in our case, we need to also consider: farmers, suppliers, distributors and consumers. Take collaboration with farmers for example. At Cadbury have a partnership with United Nations Development Programme and others which supports development of sustainable cocoa growing communities. This programme, called the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership, aims to secure the economic, social and environmental sustainability of around a million cocoa farmers and their communities in Ghana, India, Indonesia and the Caribbean. We re doing this because it makes good business sense. It aims to ensure a continued supply of raw materials for us to make and sell our chocolate. However it also mobilises our 9

10 suppliers, our customers and consumers towards environmental sustainability in farming. We believe that advocacy from business has a role to play. I guess that s why I agreed to do this speech. When organisations communicate to consumers what they are doing to improve environmental sustainability, this can have a knock-on effect on other organisations. The more businesses lead this the more others will follow. To conclude.. We are all here today for the opening of Green Week because we believe that we can all make a contribution. At Cadbury, we don t claim that we have got it all right or that we have all the answers but I do believe that we are heading in the right direction. We believe our values can generate value for the business. Purple can go green. Business needs to be engaged in pro-actively tackling climate change. To be sustainable we all need wealth creation and to continue to create jobs and wealth business has to be aware of the challenges our (only) one earth faces it faces and do their bit to act. I haven t even mentioned the expertise, innovation and creativity within businesses how can we tackle the challenge of climate change without this? We fully support the Commission s endeavors to support business in its pursuit of ensuring a greener and wealthier world for all. We must 10

11 continue to work together to overcome the challenges of today and to prepare for those of the future. Thank you very much. 11