Commissioned by Fonterra Brands Lanka Ltd. (FBL) in 2006-07, D&D Strategic Solutions (Private) Limited formulated and presented the FBL Sustainability Plan and CSR Strategy themed “Ensuring Wellbeing for sustainability. In May 2007 D&D was once again commissioned by FBL to launch the CSR Strategy with selected key goals in mind. The project was lead by sustainability and CSR expert Mr. Uchita de Zoysa and comprised of a high profile team of experts.
Fonterra is Sri Lanka’s leading dairy company with flagship brands such as Anchor, Raththi, Newdale and Anelene. Fonterra is the world's leading dairy exporter and is currently ranked sixth by turnover among the world's dairy companies. Fonterra Co-operative Group was formed in 2001 and has become the world’s largest dairy exporter with over 11,000 shareholders.
It was a rewarding experience to have designed FBL’s corporate sustainability plan and CSR strategy through an in-depth survey and a systematic analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first time that a Sri Lankan organization had been commissioned to conduct such an in-depth and scientific study on CSR, especially in the consumer products based industry. “Ensuring Wellbeing for Sustainability” is a comprehensive proposal custom designed to guide FBL towards corporate sustainability. It also provides pathways towards developing a sustainable dairy industry in Sri Lanka.
Project Overview
The leading diary market shareholder in Sri Lanka (SL) assigned D&D Strategic Solutions to conduct their first ever CSR strategy planning. This is the first time that a Sri Lankan organization had been commissioned to conduct such an in-depth and scientific study on CSR, specially in the consumer products based industry.
The project lasted 4 months and involved a multi-disciplinary team of consultants who undertook a wide range of activities with internal stakeholders and external stakeholders. These activities included but were not limited to:
- Stakeholder and role identification
- A critical review of the internal company environment and external trends and pressures
- Management & employee surveys
- Consumers surveys
- Facilitated focus group sessions
- Triple bottom line assessment
- Sustainable development planning
- Strategic plan development
- SRI mapping
- CSR Project Proposal
- Proposal for adopting and implementing the CSR Plan
Conclusions
The key to CSR success is establishing the wellbeing of all stakeholders in the programme and when corporate sustainability is aligned with national to global sustainability paths. While CSR strategy and programme planning is vital, implementation still needs continuous monitoring, improvement and vigilance on the impacts on beneficiaries.