Associated British Foods

Associated British Foods
Industry	Tobacco, Foods & Drinks
Founded	1935
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Area Served	Worldwide
Chairman	[Charles Sinclair]
CEO	[George G. Weston]
Products	Food, ingredients
Financial Services	Retailing
Market Value	15,431.70$
Employees	113,000 (2013)
Website	www.abf.co.uk

About Associated British Foods

Associated British Foods plc is a British multinational food processing and retailing company. Its headquarters are located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's second-largest producer of both sugar and baker's yeast. It also is a major producer of other ingredients such as emulsifiers, enzymes and lactose. ABF also has a grocery division that manufactures both branded and private label grocery products. It includes the brands Mazola, Ovaltine, Ryvita, Jordans and Twinings. Primark forms ABF’s retail division. Primark has around 200 stores with over 600,000 square metres of selling space in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Engagement in Cultural Diplomacy

Associated British Foods feels responsible for a number of things, most importantly their own employees, promoting good health, being a good neighbour and being a steward of the environment. They try to make the impact of their company on the environment as positive as possible. On their website they provide documents with updates on their environmental performance. Associated British Foods recognises its responsibility to the places where it operates. ABF has management teams in each of its locations. These teams decide what must be done to be welcomed in those places and how they can best contribute to the local community. ABF encourages all its businesses to engage positively with the local community. ABF finds it very important to make sure that the people who work for them or for one of their suppliers are safe, treated fairly and shown respect. Only this way can it be a responsible and ethical business. ABF researches the impact that their food has on the human body. The company also chooses to communicate this information with its customers, allowing them to make informed decisions about the type and quantity of food they want to eat.

Employment policy

All the different branches of ABF promote the training and employment of young people by helping them acquire the skills they need to enter the workplace. They also provide many employment opportunities for the local surrounding communities, because they recognise the value of offering education and work experience to help people into employment. A Code of Conduct ensures the safe and fair treatment of their employees. [Illovo sugar Illovo sugar], for example, is an important source of employment for the many urban and rural communities in which it operates. They offer many different types of jobs and opportunities. Illovo strives to be the employer of choice within the southern African agri-business sector, by committing to continual investment in its people. This way they strive to be a sustainable business.

Cultural Exchange Programs

With the Executive Leadership Programme (ELP), that was launched in 2005-2006, ABF tries to reconnect all participants with Associated British Foods. The program provides a good opportunity for people to network and functions as a thinking tank to help the growth of the business.

Education

International Internship Program

Among others, these are two of the extensive internship programs offered by two different branches of Associated British Foods: Primark has developed key relationships with schools and fashion colleges close to some of the international stores, in order to establish the brand and connect to customers and potential employees. In Madrid, Primark cooperates with St Patrick’s School and the ISEM Fashion Business School. In Madrid, relationships have been developed with St Patrick’s School and the ISEM Fashion Business School and in Germany with the Department of Textile Clothing Technology at Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences. Primark offers students of these institutions to participate in a scholarship programme that awards selected students internship opportunities at their company in Dublin. ABF supports the Los Pinos Institute in Casavalle, Uruguay. The institute is sponsored by the Uruguayan Labour Ministry and strives to increase the education levels of young people, by offering tutoring and job-related training. The AB Mauri offers about four internships as part of a seven-month training programme in the hope that some interns may stay on permanently.

Grants And Scholarships

ABF also chooses to support local schools and students. AB Agri for example teaches local students about science and farming. They also offer financial support and scholarships, through a program called Bright Crop. The program encourages young people to consider careers in agriculture and food production.

Cooperation with universities

In the UK, the ABF has an association with the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) and they support the Food Curriculum Fund. ABF also supports the development of a dedicated Food Engineering degree programme at Sheffield Hallam University, with help from the Food and Drink Federation. This is the only engineering degree programme dedicated specifically on the needs of the food industry. The UK government also supports the programme.

Primark has relationships with St Patrick’s School and the ISEM Fashion Business School in Madrid and the Department of Textile Clothing Technology at Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences in Germany. (see “Grants And Scholarships”)

Notable activities

Promoting Human- and Civil Rights

ABF has a strong ethos of workplace safety and employee wellbeing. This forms the foundation of their commitment to respect human rights. They continuously strive to comply with the UN Declaration on Human Rights. Their commitment to ensure Human Rights ranges from their responsibility towards their people, their neighbours and the environment. ABF does everything it can to respect the human rights of all its employees and workers, by risk-assessing and enlarging their attention on the respect of human rights in jurisdiction of governments that protect them less. As an example, by the end of 2014 Primark will have a publicly available human rights policy. A full policy for Associated British Foods should be in place by the end of 2015. ABF is also aware of the diverse cultures and the differences in laws, norms and traditions in the different countries it operates. ABF thus supports and respects the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights. The company does not tolerate discrimination, forced and child labour.

Activities in the Field of Humanitarian Aid

Associated British Foods is committed to being a good neighbour. In 1958 the Garfield Weston Foundation was founded through this idea and it is now one of the UK’s foremost philanthropic organisations. Since its establishment the Foundation has been donating money to charitable causes in the whole of the UK. The donations continuously grow and support a very wide range of causes, from community welfare, healthcare, arts to environmental issues. Associated British Foods cooperates with a number of charitable institutions. In Ireland Primark (known as Penneys there) has developed relationships with national charities. The Jordans & Ryvita business cooperates with the UK sustainability charity Forum for the Future. Together they have been forming a new sustainability strategy that strives to extend its support to UK farming, to reduce their environmental footprint, enhance ethical and environmental standards, and to commit to making and selling healthier products. AB Agri supports Shine Education Centre and makes invaluable contributions to the progress and development of the school, helping the school to become one of the highest achieving schools in Ghana. In 2009 Kingsmill became the first bread brand to carry the Carbon Trust Carbon Reduction Label on its packaging. Two years later Allied Bakeries reduced its footprint enough to also receive the label. Also, Sainsbury’s developed the carbon footprinting tool, which aims to reduce farm energy consumption and carbon emissions. Sainsbury’s has won a range of prestigious sustainability awards because of this.

External Links

Associated British Foods official website