“One Planet. One Health”: FAO partners with Danone on future-proof food systems

17 Oct 2019 --- Bringing it closer to creating climate-resilient and future-proof food systems, dairy giant Danone has partnered with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to share data and knowledge, particularly on nutrition, food safety and responsible investments in agriculture.The move comes as the need to improve global nutrition and food safety knowledge, alongside promoting responsible agricultural value chains, becomes increasingly imperative. The partnership will particularly address goal two of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) – Zero Hunger.

The One Planet. One Health vision by Danone aims to protect the health of Earth’s ecosystems and people. Aside from the FAO partnership, Danone has also invested NZ$40 million (US$28 million) towards achieving 100 percent carbon neutrality of its Nutricia spray drying plant, as part of its global journey towards carbon neutrality by 2050, all within its One Planet. One Health trajectory. 

Danone and FAO aim to address goal 2 of the UN’s 17 SDGs which in total address environmental, social and economic global challenges. Goal 2, Zero Hunger, is designed to end global hunger by achieving food security, improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture. 

In cooperation with FAO, the company envisions its collaboration as sharing information between each other. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between FAO and Danone is based on four pillars:

• Exchange information on emerging food safety issues, including new trends and drivers.
• Share data on food consumption and nutrient intakes to improve knowledge and foster the adoption of healthier eating habits, starting with Egypt as a pilot country.
• Exchange knowledge related to food systems and nutrition security through the provision by the FAO of its e-learning courses and digital certification to Danone employees.
• Promote compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals and responsible business conduct in global agricultural supply chains.

Chairman and CEO of Danone Emmanuel Faber and FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu at signing of the agreement. Source: FAO/Robert Schmidt.With Danone’s providing its information in an open FAO data tool, this information can be made available to policy makers. This digital information sharing is thus projected to create a foundation upon which future tangible actions can be built. 

Having previously spoken out on the importance of green agriculture in the future at a high-level event in Moscow, Russia, FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu affirmed the significance of the partnership at the signing of the agreement. He echoed Faber stating that it will help advance global efforts to improve nutrition and food safety and make food systems more sustainable. 

Danone has long been involved in the “food revolution” to foster sustainable eating and drinking practices, the company says. It was one of several sector leaders backing the piloted Sustainable Dairy Partnership (SDP), an industry-wide initiative to push toward global sustainability. The partnership aims to usher in a collective approach to commercial relationships between dairy customers and their suppliers to overcome environmental and social impacts impacting the industry worldwide. 

Edited by Anni Schleicher