Page 16 - Economy_Sustainable Global Economy

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The tool combines PWC market-leading Total Impact Measurement and Management framework
(understanding social, economic, and environmental impacto f a business) with detailed understanding of
the targets and indicators that underpin the SDG. In this way, they aim to help business asses SDG impacts,
define its priorities and set goals.

CASE STUDY: Innovative partnership to address malnutrition and poverty
Company: Danone Sector: Food Production
Region/country of impact:Bangladesh Aligns to: SDG 1 and SDG 17

Global Challenge: Bangladesh is one of the world’s poorest countries, 80% of its population live on two
dollars a day and have no access to basic goods or services. One in two children suffer from malnutrition.

Business Response: Danone’s mission, since it began has been “bringing health Through food to as many
people as possible”. This vision was truly tested when Franck Riboud, CEO of Groupe Danone, met
Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank in 2005. This meeting led to the creation of Grameen
Danone Foods Ltd (GDFL), the aim of which was to set up a small yoghurt plant in Bogra, Bangladesh, to
promote local development and bring health to the community. GDFL was set up as a partnership and both
parties contributed initial capital investment. GDFL developed a yogurt which is enriched with zinc, iron,
iodine, vitamin A, and accounts for 30% of a child’s recommended daily nutrients; its brand name is
“Shokti Doi” which means “strength yoghurt” in Bengali; and it is being sold at an affordable price to the
local community. The milk for the production comes from local micro-farmers; and the yoghurts are
distributed by a network of Rural Sales Women, commonly known as Jita. The business has a status of
“social business enterprise”, where any potential profits are spent on welfare of the local people and
community development.

Benefits: The most important benefit is that the new yoghurts became a good supplement to children’s
diet and that it improved their overall health. Other benefits to the local people have included: employ-
ment for women distributing yoghurts; employment opportunities with fair wages and development of
new skills for the plant workers; and for farmers – having a market for their milk.

This project offered Danone an opportunity to learn how to develop a low-cost nutritious product and how
to sell to the poor, which they can now replicate in other parts of the world. They have also learned a new
way of food fortification, which the company is now applying in their other brands e.g. Densia and Activ-
ia (which are also sold in Europe). In terms of new market entry strategy, starting up with a smaller scale
operation in a new territory, proved to be easier and also less risky.