Sustainability - Hero digitaal jaarverslag · Bisphenol A (BPA). environmental sustainability Following on from 2014, Organix have main-tained a Zero landfill for the year in review

Sustainabilitybrochure 2016

Delight consumers

by conserving

the goodness of nature

Some call us a food manufacturer – we disagree. For us, it is Mother

Nature who makes food – all we do is conserve the goodness, for you. We

are her treasurer and are in her debt. For this reason, we at the Hero

Group, we are committed to improving our sustainability credentials.

We are constantly striving to find the best practices that make sense

for all our stakeholders – our customers, our 4,300 employees, and our

shareholders – and for future generations.

our commitment

environmental sustainabilityTo the planet we all share… It’s a

promise to protect the Earth’s natural resources

through innovation and more efficient use of

energy, water, and packaging in our operations.

talent sustainabilityTo the associates of HERO… It’s a

promise to invest in our associates to help them

succeed and develop the skills needed to drive

the company’s growth, while creating employ-

ment in the communities we serve.

social sustainabilityTo the people of the world… It’s a

promise to encourage people to live healthier

by offering a portfolio of enjoyable and healthy

foods, produced in state-of-the-art quality, using

fair and safe practices.

performanceTo our owners… It’s a promise to deliv-

er superior, sustainable financial per formance.

Conserving

the goodness of nature

hero group sustainability

02 | hero group sustainability brochure

environmental sustainability

conserving our planet



(2) CO2e: Carbon dioxide emission equivalents, which measures the Green House Gas footprint implied by the energy consumed.

Compared with last year, energy consumption

also fell by 1.4 % for the entire Group.

In absolute terms, our energy consumptions in

2016 generated 1,199 tons of CO2 less than in

2014. This is the result of continuous rigid

measurements and monitoring at all of our

sites to ensure energy efficiency. The reduction

we achieved in 2015 is equivalent to the

average amount of CO2 produced by around 250

cars per year.

We measure energy consumption in CO2 e/mt

to account for conversion efficiency as well

as alternative sources of energy. We remain

committed to the 266 CO2 e/mt target.

Where do the savings come from?

Schwartau has installed a combined heat and

power plant in the Corny production plant. This

power plant will provide approx. 1,120,000 kWh

of electricity per year. This corresponds to

about 6 % of our annual requirement and

covers the annual consumption of about 320

households.

Hero Spain, Signature Brands (US), Organix

(UK), Hero MEA and Beech-Nut (US) installed

more efficient lighting, which saw savings of

close to 100 CO2, while Semper (Sweden)

introduced night and weekend closing plus

shorter start-ups and steam use at the

company’s drum-drier, measures which have

shown savings of 900 MWh of energy. Hero

Turkey has also improved efficiency in various

areas, resulting in approximately 100 tons CO2

savings in 2016. Hero Egypt installed solar

panels and more efficient production lines,

thereby reducing their footprint.

Energy reduction practices carried out by Hero

Turkey were presented during a training seminar

arranged by the Scientific and Technological

Research Council of Turkey as a best practice

sharing activity to other companies in Turkey.

We use less CO2-intensive energy sources

where possible – for example, hydro power in

Switzerland and Germany, or biofuel from

forestry waste in Sweden. With efficiency

training, we encourage all our employees to

make a difference in their everyday life. This is

either part of the Group-wide Lean program.

A critical contributor to reducing our energy

footprint was the use of latest building

standards for our newest factories in the USA

(LEED®) and Switzerland (Minergie®), enabling

considerable CO2/year reduction. Over the years,

we have invested extensively in heat recovery

systems at our major plants, such as Germany,

Switzerland, Spain, US, Turkey, and Sweden.

energy footprint

In 2010, our energy consumption was high, and

this did no favors to our bottom line nor to the

environment. This is why we saw the need for

change. Since then, we have reduced our energy

usage significantly. This not only helps the

environment, but also our bottom line.

Consumption was reduced from 380 CO2 e/mt(2)

in 2010 to 273.8 CO2 e/mt in 2017 – a drop of 28 %.



protecting our natural resources, one step at a time

energy consumptionaverage of Hero Group operations in CO2 e/mt

2010

380

2017 target

266

2016

273.8

+5% versus Target


energy consumption

1,199 tons CO2

Equivalent to

the CO2 emissions of 250 cars

driven for a year


water footprint

Life is dependent on water, which is why we

strive to reduce our consumption. We have

reduced our consumption from 10.4 m3/mt in

2010 to 5.8 m3/mt in 2016. We have effectively

halved our water consumption and believe

that this is a great result.

Between 2010 and 2016, we reduced our water

consumption by 1.47 billion liters of water,

enough for 600 standard Olympic-sized swim-

ming pools or to fill 7.5 billion glasses of water.

Every drop counts – where we save

We manage our own water wells in our plants

in Spain, Egypt, Sweden, and Germany. We

constantly invest in efficient technology and

processes.

At Hero Spain and Hero Turkey, we recovered

reject water from the reverse osmosis process,

saving 32,200 m3 in 2015. At Schwartau, sections

of the production line that were no longer in use

but were still being flushed were removed from

the system saving a further 5,000 m3. Hero

Switzerland re-uses process water in cooking

We have halved

our water consumption

in five years


areas, saving three liters of water per kilogram

of produce. Semper have new and improved

cleaning cycles which have led to a reduction of

water usage of around 1,000 m3 and Egypt have

introduced a number of measures to save water,

such as improved fruit washing equipment

and procedures, more efficient conveyor water

lubrication and waste segregation. Our LEED®-

certified US production plant includes more

efficient operating lines, further boosting our

water savings.

water consumptionaverage of Hero Group operations in cbm/mt

2010

10.4

2017 target2016

5.8 5.6


water consumption

reduced by 1.47 billion liters of water since 2010


packaging & food waste

Minimizing food waste is one of our primary

goals. On the one hand, this applies directly to

our supply chain, where our Group Lean

Program plays an important role in stream-

lining processes at our factories and co-pack-

ers to reduce losses.

On the other hand, we aim to minimize food

waste during distribution and at the consumer

level by guaranteeing food quality throughout a

product’s shelf life. In our packaging choices,

we pay a lot of attention to striking the right

balance between product protection and

unnecessary packaging waste. That is why our

jams and baby food are mostly packed in glass

jars, and it is also the reason we keep testing

new materials.

stable at 39.1 % in 2016, slightly up from the

2015 figure (38 %) but below the 42 % reported

in 2014. The vast majority of our packaging was

glass (31 %) followed by carton (5.6 %), closures

(1.9 %) and plastic (0.6 %). We aim to keep this

figure below 40 %.

Here are some other measure taken to reduce

our packaging footprint:

Schwartau introduced a new foil for our Corny

without aluminum and with improved barrier

characteristics. In 2015, the jars consisted of

55 % to 65 % of secondary raw materials (shard

content), the recycle content in our cartons was

85 % to 95 %.

Hero Spain embarked on a program to

eliminate the film plastic in jam trays – in the

process, 35 metric tons of plastic packaging

was saved, and the equivalent of 90 mt CO2.

The glass weight of jars used at Hero Turkey for

the Hero MEA export business were reduced by

between 4 g and 8 g with the total savings of

55.5 metric tons of glass in a year. Turkey

changed the 6x6x150g double cased product

into the 12x150g unit and thus saved two

metric tons of carton a year.

By the installation of an in-house rice milling

facility, the use of plastic based sacks were

eliminated and rice flour was stored directly in

silos, eliminated sack material and saving 1.4

metric tons over 12 months. Similarly, Pet/Alu/

PE triplex inliner used in milk powder big bags

were replaced by single layer PE and 0.4 metric

ton packaging material was saved. Hero Turkey

started to use plastic labels instead of paper

labels for exported jars to Hero MEA, saving

about 1.4 metric tons of paper.

Packaging at Organix in the UK is 82 %

recyclable by weight, while just 4.9 % of all

packaging and food is non-recyclable waste by

weight. Our Benelux region has introduced 50 %

recycled PET in all the bottles we use, with a

considerable impact on recycling.

Hero MEA embarked on a project to reduce

overall waste by 0.8 % as a result of yield and

productivity improvements. Apart from the

financial savings, the company reduced waste

by an estimated 200 metric tons.

We also measure the recycle content in our

packaging materials. The Group average is

40 %, with 77.2 % in cartons, 50 % in closures

and 13 % for plastics. Our 32.6 % rate in glass

is very close to maximum achievable as the

cullet content in our glass jars is already highly

optimized. Most of our packaging materials –

such as glass, metal closures, cardboard/cor-

rugated paper, and PET bottles – are recycla-

ble. However, we are aware that the actual

recycling rate depends on the local recycling

infra structure and consumer application. It is

our intention to keep consumers informed

about recycling options in the various markets

we operate. We are also monitoring the newest

scientific findings and regulations to ensure

our packaging solutions are free of critical

migration components. For example, all our

infant formula tins and accessories are free of

Bisphenol A (BPA).


Following on from 2014, Organix have main-

tained a Zero landfill for the year in review.

All excess food was either distributed to

charities, such as FareShare, or used at the

newly- installed Anaerobic Digestion plant to

create energy.

At Schwartau, we have managed to optimize

waste separation, with a recycling rate of 96 %.

Hero Turkey optimized the holding tempera-

tures in hydrolysis tanks and reduced quantity

of enzyme used in cereal production, as a

result 0.9 metric tons of enzyme was saved.

Signature Brands implemented a recycling

program to shred and recycle office documents

and recycle all single stream products; saving

13 tons CO2 in 2016.

Also, in Switzerland, we partner with the

non-profit organization United Against Waste,

to establish practical solutions to reduce food

waste along the entire supply chain.

Our secondary goal is to reduce packaging

waste by reducing the weight of packaging. Our

packaging-to-product ratio remained relatively


recycle content

closures 50 % cartons 77.2 % group average 43 %

glass 32.6 %plastics 13 %



upstream sustainability

We continue rolling out our Hero Code of

Conduct to all suppliers and co-packers, com-

municating our expectation from our business

partners and operating in full compliance with

all applicable laws. To assess whether our

suppliers and co-packers have the necessary

policies and procedures

in place, we use the

Sedex platform. Sedex,

the Supplier Ethical Data

Exchange, is a non-profit

membership organization dedicated to driving

improvements in responsible and ethical

business practices in global supply chains.

Sedex is shared by many of our industry peers,

enabling suppliers to complete their site

assessments or audits and share them with

customers. The Sedex assessment criteria,

including business ethics, environment, labor,

and health & safety, have become the accepted

standard in the industry. Evaluation includes a

complete risk concept, taking into account

self-assessment, supply chain role, and country

risk. We continue engaging with our suppliers

and ask them to join us on this platform and

give us access to their self-assessment

results. By the end of 2016, 90 % of our suppliers

were covered by Sedex, up from 86 % in 2015.

We aim to reach 95 % by the end of 2018.

As a major purchaser of agricultural raw

materials, we need to ensure high quality, safe,

and constant supply. Otherwise, our mission ‘to

delight consumers by conserving the goodness

of nature’ would be impossible to achieve.

We therefore joined the Sustainable Agricul-

ture Initiative (SAI), a non-profit organization

whose goal is to facilitate

sharing, at a non-competitive

level, of knowledge and initia-

tives to support the develop-

ment and implementation of sustainable

agriculture practices. SAI is the main food

industry initiative supporting the development

of sustainable agriculture worldwide.

Conserving the goodness of nature requires a

great deal of fruit and other raw products. It is

in our consumers’ and our interest to make

sure the products we use are fresh and, where

possible, locally sourced to avoid lengthy trans-

portation.

In Germany, our aim is to purchase our raw

materials as close to our production facilities

as possible: 30 % of our fruits are from Germany

while 94 % are purchased from Europe. We

used around 60 % locally-sourced strawberries

in 2016. Schwartau received and processed

35 % fresh fruit directly in 2016, a third of its

total. This amount has doubled since 2012 and

included plums, cherries, mirabelles, rasp-

berries, blackberries and elderberry, red

currants, and black currants apart from straw-

berries. Schwartau has also extended its use of

certified cocoa (UTZ) and palm oil (RSPO), and

plans to reach 100 % by 2018.

In Schwartau, the first SMETA 4-Pillar Audit

was conducted in 2016 while in Switzerland, we

increased our use of local fruit for our jams.

In Sweden, we reduced the use of palm oil in

infant category by 90 %, replacing it with local-

ly-sourced milk fat. In the Netherlands, Hero

Benelux uses locally grown blackcurrants for

cassis products. Hero MEA is working hard to

improve the engagement rate with suppliers as

well as the Hero Group Code of Conduct roll-

out across the region.

Hero Turkey has adopted a policy to use raw

products that were cultivated using less

pesticides, fungicides and herbicides, and

fertilizers containing less nitrates. Semolina is

contracted at the beginning of the season and

stored in isolated silos to protect the crop

against contaminants, especially mycotoxins.

Hero Turkey have also contracted a new fruit

supplier, who boasts sustainable credentials.

Apart from this, products are sourced locally to

reduce transportation and support small farm-

ers. Organix is not only a name but a reality – all

the food the company makes is 100 % organic

and all palm oil used is also 100 % sustainably

sourced according to RSPO standards. We

continue to extend our product portfolio made

from certified ingredients. For example, all

products sold under the Organix, Goodies,

Semper Eco, and Smafolk brands are made

from organic/bio ingredients. Hero Switzerland

and Hero Netherlands feature a Fairtrade®

product range. Schwartau sources UTZ certi-

fied cocoa and RSPO certified palm oil for

Corny products (not 100 % certified yet), and

has become an RSPO member. From 2015, all

palm oil used in our products will derive from

certified sources, and we are working on a

group-wide RSPO membership. For carton

packaging, we predominantly use FSC (Forest

Stewardship Council)-certified paper.


http://www.sedexglobal.com/

http://www.saiplatform.org/

http://www.saiplatform.org/

The Hero Group launched the bee careful®

initiative in an effort to better understand and

address the bee colony collapse disorder

pro blem. Bees pollinate about 80 % of the

world’s plants – fruit in particular. Without bees

not only would orchard yields and fruit quality

be considerably lower, some fruit species would

practically disappear. Bees are essential for us

all, and in particular for the Hero Group as a

major fruit user. We have teamed up with Prof.

Jürgen Tautz, a bee expert from University of

Würzburg, to help our initiative. The main aims

behind bee careful are:

- To assist in targeted research.

- The dissemination of knowledge in schools

and other institutions.

- To provide support to beekeepers and

prospective beekeepers.

One of the main drivers of the initiative is the

creation of the bee careful web portal –

www.bee-careful.com – which is complemented

by eight country websites in local languages.

The sites have received thousands of unique

visits since their launch in July 2015.

the hero group bee careful initiative

committed to raising awareness through research, education and support for bee keepers

Creating a buzz around bees, for their and

our sake



http://www.bee-careful.com

Since we launched the bee careful initiative, a

number of projects were undertaken by the

different subsidiaries in the Group.

- We are extending the HOBOS research station

at our German plant. This station actively sup-

ports bee research, which is the basis for our

further activities in awareness creation, farm-

er education, and bee keeper support. Product

promotions with bee careful neck hangers on

jars are planned for 2017 to increase the

awareness of consumer on this global topic.

- Hero Turkey investigated the effects of honey-

bees on the pollination of fruit set, total yield,

fruit quality and antioxidant activity for apple

(2015) and peach trees (2016). The research is

carried out in collaboration with Ömer

Halisdemir University, known to be one of the

most accredited for agricultural studies in

Turkey. The results of the studies concluded

that placing bee colonies in cultivars during

pollination significantly improved the produc-

tivity (total yield of the trees), fruit quality

(more uniform shape), and nutritional values

(antioxidant level) of the fruits. In the most

recent peach study, some 89 % increase in

total yield is observed for J.H Hale cultivar due

to its self-sterile characteristics. The results of

the study will be exploited in PR activities to

increase awareness for the important role of

honey bees for our nutrition. The research

findings will also be integrated to farmer

education programs to promote bee friendly

agricultural practices. Results received in the

Fall of 2016 are impressive as they clearly

show that: 1) Productivity in peach and apple

orchards are significant when pollinated by

bees; 2) Fruit quality improves; and 3) Both

fruits show significantly higher nutritional

value as a result of the uplift of antioxidants.

Based on these results, we will start sharing

this experience with farmers in Turkey.

- Organix is ready to install a bee research hive

(similar to the one found in Schwartau) on

the premises of University of Bournemouth.

Execution is planned for Q1 2017 to do

comparative research between three research

locations in Schwartau, Würzburg and

Bournemouth.

- Hero MEA was laying the groundwork for a

HOBOS research project in 2016 on saving the

native Egyptian bee variety, the Apis mellifera

lamarckii. In total, 800 colonies are in Vitrac´s

hands allowing the research work to begin.

- Hero Czech supported student bee keeper

projects in collaboration with the University

SOUV Nasavrky. The project was perceived so

well and beat our expectations that we will

continue the cooperation with the target to

bring young people to bee-keeping and pro-

mote its education.

- Hero Benelux launched a ‘bee-safari’ mobile

app in collaboration with Natuur & Milieu,

which supports bee research and creates

awareness on bees via consumer activation.

- Hero Switzerland launched a project that en-

couraged consumers to build wild bee hotels.

- Hero Spain embarked on a long-term project

to promote biodiversity in cereal monocul-

tures, a critical contribution to guarantee bee

nutrition throughout the bee season.

- Hero Spain have begun preparing bee-friendly

agricultural practices, which will be rolled out

to farmers with the final aim of promoting

organic farming.

- In the course of the last two years Schwartau

sponsored 100 beekeeper courses for the win-

ners of a consumer engagement competition.

This successful bee careful initiative will be

continued in 2017.

- Schwartau participated in converting Bad

Schwartau into the most bee friendly

community with concrete measures to make

public areas, private gardens and local schools

more bee friendly. Schwartau was ranked

#2 in the State of Schleswig-Holstein, a truly

remarkable result. The city of Bad Schwartau

initiated its first ‘Bee Day’ and created a lot of

awareness among members

of the community.



logistics footprint

Transportation is an inevitable consequence of

consumerism, so we are constantly striving to

reduce our logistics footprint to a minimum.

In 2016, our logistic footprint was 57 CO2e /mt

and we plan to bring this down to 56 CO2e /mt

in 2017.

Various programs have been under way over

the years, such as finding local suppliers, using

Lean & Green transport fleets and minimizing

business travel.

In Spain, we reduced transportation by shifting

to metal closure supply from Barcelona rather

than Hannover. Also, most of our glass jars are

produced in local furnaces. Beech-Nut buys

nearly all its requirements in North America,

and one-third of all ingredients and all glass

jars are sourced locally, from New York State.

Hero Turkey increased the number of big bags

loaded on a truck from 20 to 22. Similarly, the

number of pallets for export loaded into a

container increased from 24 to 25. As a result,

the number of international trips decreased,

both on the Spain to Turkey route and the

Turkey to MEA region. With recipe changes,

banana was partially replaced by local fruit.

Thanks to this change, the transport of

bananas was partially replaced by domestic

transportation. Hero Turkey also started to

source organic apricot puree from Turkey

instead of Spain. All this resulted in an effective

saving of 17.6 tons CO2 /year.

In the Netherlands, Hero Benelux only works

with logistic service providers who use Lean &

Green Programs so as to minimize CO2

emissions.

Hero Switzerland use a supplier that uses

trucks with Euro 6 certified engines, which

have significantly lower NOx emissions – 0.4

versus 2.0 for Euro 5 – and half the fine particle

emissions. For example, more than 90 % of

packaging for our Swiss plant is bought from

Switzerland or neighboring countries.

In an effort to address our downstream

sustainability, we are working on optimizing

distribution, including our transportation

network and warehousing. For example, our

Swedish operations reducing their logistics

footprint by moving the warehouse hub to

Reducing our logistic footprint

reduces costs and helps

preserve the environment


central Sweden. In the Netherlands, we

participate in the GROEI network where we

team up with Heinz, SCA, and our main

customers to increase truckload size and

delivery synchronization. In a similar effort

Organix teamed up with one of their retail

customers. Pioneering alternative energy

usage in distribution, Organix has been working

with logistics provider Howard Tenens for the

last 10 years. Howard Tenens transports our

product with dual-fuel trucks, operating on a

mixture of biomethane and diesel, which

produces less-harmful air pollutants.

Hero Netherlands’ distribution for all ambient

products is carbon neutral, where CO2 is offset

by Green Care projects. In our own factories

and warehouses, we increasingly use electric

forklifts.


social sustainability

nutrition today, health tomorrow



Quality matters

We believe the best investment we can make is in

the health and safety of our consumers,

especially the youngest. This is why we strive to

introduce products that improve consumers’ diet

and provide healthy nutrition. Based on this idea,

we believe the goodness of nature should be the

basis for infant nutrition, and this forms the

guiding principle for our infant food mission,

namely Nutrition Today, Health Tomorrow®. We

support the World Health Organization’s recom-

mendation of exclusive breastfeeding up to six

months, and continued breastfeeding with

appropriate complementary foods up to two

years and beyond. When the mother is unable

to breast-feed, we provide a safe and nutrition-

ally-adequate breast milk substitute as well as

balanced and complete baby food. We offer a new

approach to infant and toddler nutrition, and

incorporate the latest scientific evidence to

ensure that our infant and weaning food supports

the development and healthy growth of babies

and toddlers into healthy children and adults. We

do this by working with our Hero Institute for

Infant Nutrition (HIIN) and our Scientific Advisory

Board, which is constituted of an independent

group of renowned pediatricians and nutritionists.

The Hero Group re-launched its Quality Policy in

2015, defining the values that we hold to heart.

Values

Goodness of nature

1 Authenticity: We use the best and freshest

natural ingredients available just as our

consumers would in their own kitchens.

2 Minimal processing: Conserving the good-

ness of nature means adopting production

methods to minimize processing, so our

products are as close to ‘home-made’ as

possible.

Commitment to sustainability, health

and responsible communication

3 Trust: It is important to be recognized for our

respect for nature, our expertise in nutrition,

and the manner in which we implement

these factors sustainably in our products.

4 Health: We continuously strive to introduce

new products that improve our consumers’

nutrition.

Preconditions

5 Safety: Food safety is our most important

value, a non-negotiable principle which can-

not under any circumstances be compro-

mised. Our company vision, United Local

Heroes, means that everyone at Hero, no

matter what part of the business and wher-

ever in the world they work, is responsible

for ensuring our high quality and safety

standards.

6 Competitiveness: Ensuring the survival of

our company means delivering our mission

over the long term and achieving sustainable

growth for the company. The satisfaction of

our customers ensures our competitiveness

and is the most important basis for our long-

term corporate success.


The HIIN philosophy

Early nutrition during the gestation and the

first years of life, the so-called first 1,000 days,

has a key influence on health and development

outcomes in later life. This includes the risk of

suffering from obesity and related chronic

illnesses, such as diabetes or metabolic

syndrome later in life.


nutrition today, health tomorrow


Our commitment of

Nutrition Today, Health Tomorrow

At Hero, we believe the goodness of nature

should be the basis of infant nutrition. For our

infant formulas we use ingredients naturally

present in breast milk and our baby foods are

designed to offer a balanced and natural diet.

We work with the freshest and most carefully-

selected ingredients. We do not add preserva-

tives. We process our baby and toddler foods in

such a way so as to conserve as much of their

natural value and real taste possible – like

nature intended.

We offer a new approach to infant and toddler

nutrition and incorporate the latest scientific

evidence to ensure that our infant and weaning

foods support the development and healthy

growth of babies and toddlers into healthy

children and adults. We do this by working our

Hero Institute for Infant Nutrition, and our

Scientific Advisory Board constituted by an

independent group of internationally reputed

pediatricians and nutritionists.

We collaborate closely with universities, not

only to get access to the latest information, but

also to actively support research in infant food

science.

Our commitment is to comply with all internal

requirements and external quality and food

safety regulations and legislations. Food safety

is our most important value, a non-negotiable

principle that cannot under any circumstances

be compromised. Also, we promote the same,

high standards across the board.

We follow international food safety and quality

standards including GFSI-recognized global

quality and food safety standards and globally

recognized ISO 9001, BRC Agents & Brokers

Standards and our compliance with these

standards is certified by independent third

parties, as well as through internal audits. These

standards focus on product safety, quality, legal

compliance, including strong consumer and

customer focus, the motivation and implication

of top management, as well as being responsible

for maintaining an effective chain of traceability

with a continuous improvement perspective.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO) defines the food chain

approach as recognition that responsibility for

the supply of food that is safe, healthy and

nutritious is shared along the entire food chain.

This value, therefore, applies to all stakeholders

involved with the production, processing, trade,

and consumption of food. We expect our

partners to align with our requirements around

food safety and compliance, and we work

closely with local authorities to ensure that we

comply with local legal requirements. We

monitor our suppliers’ compliance through

Sedex. Under our continuous improvement

scheme, we strive to update our solutions for

contamination detection in our plants. In

Schwartau, we have evaluated new ‘foreign

body detection technology’ with very promising

results. We are going to implement this state-

of-the-art technology to further improve the

food safety of our jams.

Nutrition today,

health tomorrow



employee health & safety

We believe it’s our 4,300+ employees

who make our company successful.

The proactive elimination of acci-

dents, injuries, and illness is a way

of life at Hero.

Our Group entities have implemented health and

safety rules in line with local regulations and

certification standards as claimed by our entities,

such as OHSAS 18001. Beyond that, caring for

each other is a core part of our Hero company

values. Our entities support this with local

employee programs. For example, The Semper

Way in Sweden, Naturally Healthy in the

Netherlands, and We do Safety Better at

Signature Brands and Echt gut gemacht at

Schwartau, Germany. All our entities have

appointed a safety committee or safety officer

and conduct regular training programs to

instruct employees on safety procedures,

prevention practices, and first aid. We track ‘Lost

work day case accident rate’ as a Group key per-

formance indicator. By accepting the mutual

responsibility on working safely, we continue to

reduce injuries and illnesses, thereby contributing

to the well-being of one another and the

success of the company as a whole. The

significant reduction of accidents last year is

clear evidence of this. Between 2013 and 2016,

the rate dropped from 8.1 to 3.0. At Schwartau,

the Work Safety Committee regularly organizes

shop floor meetings to identify and address

issues and promote activities that promote

the health and safety of workers. Awareness

campaigns are held through intranet and visuali-

zation of accident figures, apart from a focus on

occupational safety as part of our Continuous

Improvement Process (CIP).

Schwartau has also implemented an emergency

child care system. The way this works is that when

the regular care is not available (for example,

school is closed or the child is take ill) and the

presence of the parents is required at the

company because of work commitments, the

emergency child care service takes care of the

child. Hero Turkey started to mill its rice flour in

its plant and manual dumping of 50 kg flour sacks

were changed to automatic dumping of 1,000 kg

rice big bags.

(4) Lost Work day case accident rate = Total absent working days due to accidents / Total hours worked x 200,000 (=the average worked hours per year for a company of 100 employees)

Caring for each other

is a core part of

our company values


lost work day case accident rate(4)

average of Hero Group operations

2013

8.1

2017 target

0.0

2016

3.0



As a result, the manual handling of heavy 50 kg

sacks was eliminated. By installation of CCTV

and access control systems, internal and exter-

nal security levels were increased. A resting

area was built in the garden to offer employees

an alternative place to spend their free time.

Entertainment activities were organized every

quarter, such as going to cinema and lunch with

blue collar workers to increase their motivation.

A waste collection area was built next to plant

to comply with legal requirements. In several

points within the plant, barriers and ladders

were installed to eliminate accident risks.

Signature Brands in the US has taken similar

measures. These include the installation of guard

rails, replacing of unsafe stairways and scissor

lifts, additional fire protection, and hearing

studies at the production plants. Additionally,

new policies and procedures were introduced,

such as an enhanced personal protection equip-

ment policy for workers and fire hazard training.

Organix received regional awards for promoting

sustainable travel, such as the ‘Bike to Work’

scheme, and the SME Employer of the Year. Hero

Switzerland held a number of training sessions

throughout the year, including sensory training,

business ethics and work safety, and Business

Warehouse (BW) training.

At Hero Spain, the ongoing Lean System Hero

focused on continuous improvement, with

particular emphasis on horizontal and vertical

integration of departments that have processes

which can affect different areas. Health infor-

mation campaigns are held regularly and are

aimed at healthy nutrition, recommended

vacations and others. Furthermore, medical

specialists visit the Hero Spain sites to help with

detection of cancer among workers. Hero Spain

can also boast the introduction of 59 improve-

ments at their premises, including acoustic

comfort, new lighting and increased pedestrian

safety at plants.

At Hero MEA, extensive training sessions

on health & safety were held, resulting in an

accident rate reduction. Comprehensive fire -

fighting equipment was introduced at the new

factory in Egypt. The efforts paid off and the

company received OHSAS 18001 certification

towards the end of 2015.

We run numerous activities to encourage our

employees to live a healthier life.

- In the USA and Sweden, we promote well-being

and preventive measures (exercising, quit

smoking) with health care and fitness center

allowances.

- In Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, and

Germany, sports programs are sponsored, for

example renting a gym for employee soccer

games or by organizing walking / running

events.

- Switzerland offers free annual flu shots.

- In Spain, we run campaigns on food allergies

and controlling blood pressure.

- In the Netherlands, employees are offered a

FITcard giving guidance to a healthier lifestyle.


Fair Practices

To codify our business principles we have

introduced the Hero Code of Conduct. We strive

to act with integrity, loyalty, honesty, and in full

compliance with all applicable laws.

We endorse fair practices in terms of:

- human rights

- non-discrimination

- child labor

- forced and compulsory labor

- rights of association

- anti-corruption

- anti-competitive behavior

[as defined by the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and the International Labor Organization (ILO)]

All our entities have adopted these principles

in their local policies. For example, extensive

employee handbooks are used in the US and

Germany, while a Code of Ethics and Conduct

is signed by every employee in Spain. In

addition, the Global Compact Progress Report

has been completed. National regulations are

referred to in other countries, such as Switzer-

land or Sweden.

We are assessing our sites’ compliance with

the Hero Code of Conduct through the Sedex

platform and track results through the Group

key performance indicators.

As detailed in the chapter on upstream

sustainability, we also rolled out our Hero Code

of Conduct to our suppliers and co-packers,

and are tracking compliance through our Sedex

supplier assessments. The results flow into

our supplier audit schemes.

Hero Code of Conduct (PDF)



http://hero-group.ch/coc

health & safety

work day case accident rate down 63% since 2013


Apart from their bee careful efforts, the team

at Schwartau, Germany, have made donations

to regional schools and towards an initiative

that fulfils dreams of children suffering from

cancer. Schwartau have also successfully com-

pleted their second GRI Sustainability Report.

Hero Turkey donated 37.000 baby food jars to

the Foundations to help children and families

displaced by the ongoing civil war in Syria. In

addition, the Social@Hero team cooperated

with the Ministry of Education and set up a

computer class consisting of 25 computers for

a local primary school. The company general

manager held quarterly meetings to support

open communication between employees and

managers.

In the USA, Signature Brands sponsors fund-

raisers for the ARC Marion Foundation which

benefits developmentally and intellectually

disabled people. Staff members participate in

a program called Adopt an Angel for the

holiday season, providing wrapped gifts for

each ARC angel.

Each year, Signature Brands partners with a

local elementary school and sponsors the

Teacher of the Year Award, celebrating out-

standing teachers in our community. In

addition, Signature Brands sponsored the ren-

ovation of the local gym for the Boys’ and Girls’

Club, which is directly across the street from

the Decorating Plant. Many of the employees’

school age children participate in after school

and summer programs at this local facility.

Finally, close to $20,000 was raised towards the

local United Way and Signature Brands continues

to have a great deal of employee engagement

for the American Heart Association and the

March of Dimes, which researches premature

shared value

Beyond providing healthy and safe food to millions of

consumers, creating direct employment for more than

4,300 people and thousands of additional jobs at our

business partners, we are also giving back to society

in terms of a multitude of local projects – many with

positive resonance for our brands or our image in the

talent market.


births and provides financial support to

families in need due to premature birth.

Employees participate in local ‘Walks’ for both

the American Heart Association and March of

Dimes with over 100 participants from Signa-

ture Brands and their families.

Our team at Organix in the UK works with local

and UK-wide businesses, NV charities, cam-

paign bodies, and government groups to high-

light the company’s unique working environ-

ment, business ethics and organic approach.

HR work was also carried out with local schools

and colleges to provide support to career days,

working with students. At Christmas time, an

initiative was launched to allow members of

staff to participate in various community

projects. The No Junk Challenge campaign

continued with the team launching a social

media initiative with parents to share insights

on the challenges of feeding children healthily.


At Hero Benelux the team offered healthy

nutrition courses for children at primary

schools in the Netherlands, while the Baby

Digest magazine for health care professionals

was published three times. Furthermore, the

team partnered with local colleges for intern-

ships and worked with a national organization

called JOGG that aims to encourage a healthy

weight among young children.

In Spain, our team implemented numerous

projects. These included Solidarity Penny in

which colleagues gave up the cents part of

their salaries towards good causes. The team

collaborated with sports organizations across

Murcia and the entire country and held a

collection of plastic caps to help children with

health problems. Hero Spain worked with

ONCE, an organization that supports blind

people, and together implemented Braille

labelling on certain products. A healthy break-

fast day for school children was held in

cooperation of the community Townhall.

Internally, a family day was held to highlight the

work-life balance and help create a unique

Hero family. The company general manager

also held regular breakfast meetings with staff

members to open communication doors

between management and workers.

In Egypt, we donate to a hospital that treats

cancer patients and run a ‘donation box’ for our

employees to support good causes. We create

industry awareness by welcoming primary

school visits to our factory, and give practical

training to students from numerous universities.

In the Czech Republic, healthy snack Corny

was the partner sponsoring the national high

school athletics competition for young

students. A total of 15,600 students attended

the events, held over three rounds (district,

regional and national).

In Switzerland, several charity organizations

like Caritas or Tischlein Deck Dich were

supported with food. Donations of infant milks

were also made towards children suffering in

the Ukraine, while biscuits and pouches were

donated to refugee children in Greece.

It’s more than just the

bottom line -

it’s about giving something

back to our society



© Hero AG, Lenzburg, Switzerland, 2017.Full or partial reproduction of graphics and texts is not allowed without the written permission of Hero.

Separate Hero Group company sustainability reports

Germany (Schwartau)

Spain (Hero Spain)

http://www.schwartauer-werke.de/uploads/tx_szebook/Schwartauer_Werke_Sustainability_report_2015.PDF

http://bit.ly/HeroSustainabilityReport2015

Documents

Sustainability - Hero digitaal jaarverslag · Bisphenol A (BPA). environmental sustainability Following on from 2014, Organix have main-tained a Zero landfill for the year in review