Act for a
positive impact
In light of its mission of “Inventing a food safe world”, in 2016 our group made a commitment to sustainable development and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Our mission revolves around the food chain, and this provides the structure for our corporate project as a whole.
“ACT FOR A POSITIVE IMPACT” is the name of our group CSR programme, a participative, constructive approach to doing things differently and better, to achieve a three-fold performance objective with economic, environmental and social dimensions. Our goal is for our business and all our production to be part of a fully circular economy, to move towards a situation of zero impact on the planet. Reflecting the Group’s four values – Transparency, Sharing, Proficiency and Foresight – every employee makes an active contribution to this change, alongside all our stakeholders: customers, suppliers, local communities, the authorities and shareholders.
CSR challenges
An action plan in line with the United Nations goals for 2030
In September 2015, an historic summit of the United Nations saw the adoption of 17 sustainable development goals for 2030, to put an end to all forms of poverty, fight inequality and tackle climate change. In light of Kersia’s mission, 9 of these goals are now key challenges for the group.
2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
ACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
HUMAN CAPITAL
ENVIRONMENT
POSITIVE IMPACT: Promote products garanteeing positive impact beyond regulatory compliance
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION: Deploy projects linked to FOOD SAFETY from farm to fork using biotechnology
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
3.D Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks
ACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
HUMAN CAPITAL
IDAY: collect regularly requests of our employees in order to deploy new projects according to their proposals
SAFETY: prevent accidents and implement safety certification for all our installations
WELL BEING: implement a global action plan to prevent psychosocial risks
ENVIRONMENT
BALANCE BETWEEN PERSONNAL AND PROFESSIONNAL LIFE: implement tools to measure respect of the balance
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
SAFETY & PERFORMANCE TRAINING: deploy complete programms of training for our customers
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
GREEN CHEMISTRY: Deploy Disruptive innovation projects linked to limitation of risks and residus
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
4.4 By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
4.5 By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations
ACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
HUMAN CAPITAL
YOUNG AND VULNERABLE PEOPLE: implement specific procedures and programms to guarantee they are fully protected
GLOBAL TRAINING ACTION PLAN: implement and measure the performance of any training programms
ENVIRONMENT
BIODIVERSITY: implement global session of sensitization for all employees
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
LOCAL COMMITMENT to enhance employment and education
WATER: deploy existing models to supply treatment of water in African’s school
6.3 By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
ACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
HUMAN CAPITAL
ENVIRONMENT
WATER: communicate on existing models within the group to recycle water of our installations and deploy the models
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
Reduction of clients WATER footprint
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
WATER: deploy existing models to supply treatment of water
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
8.5 By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value
8.8 Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment
ACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
ETHICAL CODE: implement anti-corruption practices
HUMAN CAPITAL
HR POLICY: job creation, social & working conditions, professionnal equity, integration of disable people and values sharing
SOCIAL DIALOG: implementat global and local structure to favor social dialog
ENVIRONMENT
HSE POLICY: share good practices and evaluate performance
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
ETHICAL CODE: human rights, anti-discrimination practices
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
ETHICAL CODE: responsible purchasing favouring local suppliers
9.4 By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities
ACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
IT CHARTER: share good practices and protection of personnal data
HUMAN CAPITAL
ENVIRONMENT
Reduction of ENERGY footprint of our supply chain through the implementation of optimization programms
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
TRIPLE CERTIFICATION for all our installations before 2024 (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OSHAS 18001/ ISO 45001)
CRISIS MANAGEMENT PROCEDURE: define clear procedure for any sort of crisis
CRM deployment: follow support of customers in a unique tool
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
Switch from linear to CIRCULAR ECONOMY for any new investments
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
12.4 By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment
12.5 By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse
12.6 Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle
ACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
EXTRA FINANCIAL REPORTING: implement a platform to follow extra financial performance
HUMAN CAPITAL
PERSONNAL DATA PROTECTION: implement Group’s procedure to guarantee protection of personnal data
ENVIRONMENT
PLASTIC: communicate on existing models within the group for collecting and recycling of packaging and deploy the models
WASTE MANAGEMENT: switch from linear to CIRCULAR ECONOMY for any new project and evaluate performance
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
CUSTOMER’s SATISFACTION: implement global campaigns to gather satisfactory level of our customers
SUPPLIER CHARTER: guaranteing our customers we are controlling all our supply chain
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
ETHICAL CODE: deploy responsible behaviour
CARTOGRAPHY OF RISKS: list of any risks for the group and implement action plans to limit them
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
LOCAL COMMUNITY: deploy action plans around all our installations (co-working, co driving, …)
13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries
ACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
HUMAN CAPITAL
ENVIRONMENT
Cartography of climate risks: list all applicable risks and implement continuity plans
Cars: deploy Hybrid and electric cars
CarbonFootprint: reduction along supply chain through optimization programm
Renewable Energy: deploy the percentage of renewable energy used in our installations
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
17.16 Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries, in particular developing countries
ACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
REGULATORY SURVEY: deploy a common global tool to survey and better anticipate any new regulations
HUMAN CAPITAL
ASHOKA programm: support employee to change mindsets
ENVIRONMENT
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
ECOVADIS COMITMENT: extend the evaluation to KERSIA GROUP
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
PROFESSIONNAL ASSOCIATIONS: contribute to professionnal associations in all strategic country
ASHOKA programm: support people who are using their entreprenarial competencies to solve a social problem linked to FOOD SAFETY on a large scale
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
DISABLE PEOPLE: implement Partnerships with any technical centers employing disable people around our installations
LOCAL PROJECTS: participate to any relevant local projects
- 2. ZERO HUNGER
-
2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
ACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
HUMAN CAPITAL
ENVIRONMENT
POSITIVE IMPACT: Promote products garanteeing positive impact beyond regulatory compliance
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION: Deploy projects linked to FOOD SAFETY from farm to fork using biotechnology
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
- 3. GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
-
3.D Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks
ACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
HUMAN CAPITAL
IDAY: collect regularly requests of our employees in order to deploy new projects according to their proposals
SAFETY: prevent accidents and implement safety certification for all our installations
WELL BEING: implement a global action plan to prevent psychosocial risks
ENVIRONMENT
BALANCE BETWEEN PERSONNAL AND PROFESSIONNAL LIFE: implement tools to measure respect of the balance
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
SAFETY & PERFORMANCE TRAINING: deploy complete programms of training for our customers
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
GREEN CHEMISTRY: Deploy Disruptive innovation projects linked to limitation of risks and residus
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
- 4. QUALITY EDUCATION
-
4.4 By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
4.5 By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations
ACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
HUMAN CAPITAL
YOUNG AND VULNERABLE PEOPLE: implement specific procedures and programms to guarantee they are fully protected
GLOBAL TRAINING ACTION PLAN: implement and measure the performance of any training programms
ENVIRONMENT
BIODIVERSITY: implement global session of sensitization for all employees
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
LOCAL COMMITMENT to enhance employment and education
WATER: deploy existing models to supply treatment of water in African’s school
- 6. CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION
-
6.3 By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
ACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
HUMAN CAPITAL
ENVIRONMENT
WATER: communicate on existing models within the group to recycle water of our installations and deploy the models
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
Reduction of clients WATER footprint
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
WATER: deploy existing models to supply treatment of water
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
- 8. DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
-
8.5 By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value
8.8 Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employmentACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
ETHICAL CODE: implement anti-corruption practices
HUMAN CAPITAL
HR POLICY: job creation, social & working conditions, professionnal equity, integration of disable people and values sharing
SOCIAL DIALOG: implementat global and local structure to favor social dialog
ENVIRONMENT
HSE POLICY: share good practices and evaluate performance
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
ETHICAL CODE: human rights, anti-discrimination practices
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
ETHICAL CODE: responsible purchasing favouring local suppliers
- 9. INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
-
9.4 By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities
ACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
IT CHARTER: share good practices and protection of personnal data
HUMAN CAPITAL
ENVIRONMENT
Reduction of ENERGY footprint of our supply chain through the implementation of optimization programms
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
TRIPLE CERTIFICATION for all our installations before 2024 (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OSHAS 18001/ ISO 45001)
CRISIS MANAGEMENT PROCEDURE: define clear procedure for any sort of crisis
CRM deployment: follow support of customers in a unique tool
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
Switch from linear to CIRCULAR ECONOMY for any new investments
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
- 12. RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
-
12.4 By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment
12.5 By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse
12.6 Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle
ACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
EXTRA FINANCIAL REPORTING: implement a platform to follow extra financial performance
HUMAN CAPITAL
PERSONNAL DATA PROTECTION: implement Group’s procedure to guarantee protection of personnal data
ENVIRONMENT
PLASTIC: communicate on existing models within the group for collecting and recycling of packaging and deploy the models
WASTE MANAGEMENT: switch from linear to CIRCULAR ECONOMY for any new project and evaluate performance
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
CUSTOMER’s SATISFACTION: implement global campaigns to gather satisfactory level of our customers
SUPPLIER CHARTER: guaranteing our customers we are controlling all our supply chain
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
ETHICAL CODE: deploy responsible behaviour
CARTOGRAPHY OF RISKS: list of any risks for the group and implement action plans to limit them
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
LOCAL COMMUNITY: deploy action plans around all our installations (co-working, co driving, …)
- 13. CLIMATE ACTION
-
13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries
ACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
HUMAN CAPITAL
ENVIRONMENT
Cartography of climate risks: list all applicable risks and implement continuity plans
Cars: deploy Hybrid and electric cars
CarbonFootprint: reduction along supply chain through optimization programm
Renewable Energy: deploy the percentage of renewable energy used in our installations
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
- 17. PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE GOALS
-
17.16 Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries, in particular developing countries
ACT FOR POSITIVE IMPACT
COMPLIANCE
REGULATORY SURVEY: deploy a common global tool to survey and better anticipate any new regulations
HUMAN CAPITAL
ASHOKA programm: support employee to change mindsets
ENVIRONMENT
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
ECOVADIS COMITMENT: extend the evaluation to KERSIA GROUP
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
PROFESSIONNAL ASSOCIATIONS: contribute to professionnal associations in all strategic country
ASHOKA programm: support people who are using their entreprenarial competencies to solve a social problem linked to FOOD SAFETY on a large scale
TERRITORIAL IMPACT
DISABLE PEOPLE: implement Partnerships with any technical centers employing disable people around our installations
LOCAL PROJECTS: participate to any relevant local projects
Our CSR structure
Involving the whole company
The implementation of the CSR strategy is underpinned by an organisational structure that centres on the ACT FOR A POSITIVE IMPACT programme and is designed to leverage all the company’s strengths.
The CSR Operational Committee brings together all the business functions whose commitment is essential for a positive impact: Communication, Digital, Finance and Legal, Governance and Regulatory, Marketing and Innovation, Supplier and Customer Relations, Human Resources, Supply Chain and Industrial Performance.
CSR peer advisers (one HR manager and one QHSE or Regulatory manager) are responsible for rolling out our CSR programmes in each of the Group’s geographic areas.
A collaborative platform is used by 160 contributors throughout the group to update non-financial indicators (Human Resources, safety, environment, health and well-being, water, plastics, etc.) on an ongoing basis.
Our practical action
Doing things better and differently
Kersia’s mission – Inventing a food safe world – involves thinking outside the box, innovating and finding new, sustainable options for approaching our work, and continuously anticipating change. Every Kersia group employee needs to know that he or she can contribute to safe food, either within Kersia or as part of a business project. This Group vision led Kersia to join forces with the Ashoka network, a group of visionary social entrepreneurs who share the same ambition of developing novel solutions to achieve profound transformation of our society.
Two strategic areas for a circular economy: water and plastics
Water, a resource to be protected
Water is essential for life and for human health. Two of the major challenges for the 21st century are to provide drinking water for 7 or even 9 billion human beings in 2050 and reduce chemical and bacteriological pollution of the world’s water. Given the nature of its business, Kersia, a committed player in water conservation and the world leader in water disinfection tablets with its AQUATABS® product, is taking steps today to ensure that everyone has access to the water they need tomorrow. There are three separate strands to this approach:
- Providing cleaning and disinfection solutions that limit water consumption in the farming and food sectors.
- Treating the water that is withdrawn to make it safe to drink, to ensure food safety using local resources.
- Equipping our industrial sites with water treatment methods to allow for water reuse in the manufacture of our products.
A new lease of life for our plastic packaging
Recovering and recycling plastic packaging is a prerequisite for a circular economy strategy, and both consumers and the authorities have particularly high expectations in this area. Kersia intends to transform this demand from society into a real business model, adopting an approach that includes:
- purchasing packaging materials that include a percentage of recycled plastic
- recovering packaging materials
- recycling packaging materials
Health, Safety and Well-being, a threefold priority:
At Kersia, there is no room for compromise on our sites as regards Health, Safety and Well-being, either for our staff or our partners.
By choosing raw materials with an impact that is well managed throughout the process of product manufacturing, use and disposal, we continually strive to develop our ranges with the aim of “zero” risk (no CMR substances, for example), because our solutions must safely meet the expectations of vendors and users.
Across all our sites, all employees who would like it are offered training in Safety and Management, managing change and potentially, individual coaching.
We ask our employees and customers at regular intervals to share their expectations, by means of: satisfaction surveys, audits, discussion days via a collaborative digital platform, feedback on events, etc.
All employees have access to an in-house collaborative platform, YAMMER, where they can share their questions, professional achievements, local events and challenges that bring teams together with the all Kersia countries.