NATIONAL FOODS CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability In Our Business
The National Foods’ Board and Executive Management team led the journey to fully implement sustainable governance processes. Our sustainability strategy continues to focus on the four pillars we have identified in making a difference to society, namely: health and nutrition; responsible production and environmental stewardship; our people and society; and supply chain and agriculture.
In 2021 we took our sustainability strategy a step further, focusing on developing our systems and processes to better monitor and improve our sustainability. The Group adopted the international standard, ISO 26000 (Guidance on Social Responsibility) as the framework for sustainability reporting thereby integrating social responsibility into the Group’s values and practices and in communicating the commitment, performance and other information related to Sustainability Reporting.
The key objective in 2021 was to collect and present auditable non-financial data, which can be used as a baseline to measure improvements made over time. Any gaps that were identified, especially from the aspects of safety, occupational health and environmental impacts, have been prioritised and mitigation measures have been put in place.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
The company adopted two charities in each of the ten provinces in the country to which a monthly provision of food-stuffs is delivered. The Group also donates a day in the year for staff to participate in an organised charitable cause. National Foods has a robust CSR program whose objective is to plough back to communities within which the company operates by enhancing lives, improving wellbeing and building lasting emotional capital. We provide monthly support to a total of 44 centres in vulnerable communities across the country. These centres include orphanages, special needs groups, vulnerable women and children, schools, hospitals, churches as well as wildlife organisations. The company also responds to Government calls in supporting national causes and recently, assistance towards the COVID-19 pandemic among others.
National Foods celebrated 100 years of existence in the year 2020 against the backdrop of successive droughts and the adverse impact of COVID-19 on the country. Given the circumstances, the company elected to forego the planned centenary celebrations in favour of giving back to the society which has supported us over the last century. To this end the NFL 100 Charities Initiative was launched to provide once off support to 100 charitable organisations who are not part of the company’s ongoing CSR program.
National Foods CSR Handover ceremony
This gesture allowed National Foods to further increase its CSR footprint and celebrate with more than 50 000 beneficiaries in addition to those we already support.
Products
a) Better Buy Self Raising Flour
b) Gloria Quick Mix
c) King Pops
d) National Foods Stockfeeds Road Runner
2021 New Innovations:
The strong drive to play a broad role in the community we serve was recognised by the market as the company received several awards in the year.
The accolades received in 2020/21 are outlined below:
Long Service Awards
Our strong culture has at its core a focus on continuous learning and development for growth. We are also purposeful, innovative, hardworking, competitive and results driven and we recognise and reward our teams when they deliver mutually agreed results. This has resulted in us being able to retain our critical talent and foster loyalty and commitment to the brand by its most valuable stakeholders, our staff. This year we joined 42 employees in celebrating the following milestones in terms of years of service:
