Our approach: Creating shared value

Focus on key areas

Long‑term value creation requires focus. In consultation with experts, we chose to prioritize the three areas where our business intersects the most with society: nutrition, rural development and water. Value creation is only possible with a solid foundation of compliance and a culture of respect, as well as a firm commitment to environmental and social sustainability. Our impact on these focus areas is measured by progress against publicly stated commitments, which are informed by our materiality assessment and regular feedback from external groups.

The business case for Creating Shared Value

We cannot maximize long‑term sustainable value creation for shareholders at the expense of other stakeholders. We believe that societies will not support a business that harms our communities and overall sense of well‑being. Creating Shared Value helps ensure that we remain relevant with consumers.

To better connect financial with non‑financial value creation and reporting, we worked with Ernst & Young (EY) and Valuing Nature to conduct an impact assessment to calculate the societal and business value generated by our Global Youth Initiative (GYI). Launched in 2017, the GYI is expected to create 10 million economic opportunities for young people over the next decade. The study revealed that the initiative generated a positive business return on investment, and an even higher societal return. More detail on the results and methodology have been published on our website.

This impact valuation methodology has been peer‑reviewed by FSG and continues to be refined through application to other projects. We are currently conducting an impact valuation of our Caring for Water initiative.

We also participated in the work of the Embankment Project for Inclusive Capitalism (EPIC), which aims at shaping the broader conversation on long‑term value creation.

The detail about our approach