Danone // 2020 Universal Registration Document

Social, Societal and Environmental Responsibility 5.2 Offering safe, healthy products DANONE UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2020 154 Oversight of both these functions is exercised by the QFS and Food Safety (FS) Boards. At the global level, the Product Compliance Board is responsible for monitoring the risks identified and ensuring that the Company can manage them. Action plans Identifying emerging and evolving issues Danone has developed an end-to-end process to anticipate risks affecting food safety. This process covers the safety of rawmaterials, ingredients, food contact materials, manufacturing processes and finished products. In 2020, the global FS department mapped potential risks by pro- duct category and defined preventive plans with the operational departments responsible for local risk control. At the same time, it conducted a specific assessment of risks related to the Covid-19 pandemic and determined that the risk of transmission through ingredients or food packaging was negligible. This is consistent with the findings of official bodies such as the World Health Organization. Strategic collaborations and partnerships all over the world In 2020, the global FS department strengthened its external enga- gement with other stakeholders through, among others: • the appointment of Danone’s Chief Food Safety Officer (CFSO) as vice-chair of the Board of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI); • its cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, aiming to optimize the anticipation and prevention of emerging risks. An integrated risk-based approach Danone not only abides by local and international regulations, but also goes above and beyond by performing risk assessments and implementing strong internal FS standards. In order to ensure an alignment with applicable GFSI benchmarking requirements andFSSC22000 standards, Danone integrateddirectives on food fraud and food defense into its FSMS in 2017. Both topics are closely managed with the Company’s Security Department and the operational QFS departments that oversee their implementation at the production site level: • for food fraud: vulnerability studies were conducted to identify risks and launch prevention plans based on a tool developed by the Safe Secure Approaches Field Environments (SSAFE) consortium, of which Danone is a member; • for food defense: an audit checklist has been defined and is used to help all production sites develop and deploy preventive and protective measures. Compliance and performance evaluation Under the responsibility of the Company Finance Department, a compliance and performance evaluation is conducted through: • internal food safety audits aiming to check compliance with the FSMS requirements and associated internal standards, and • external food safety certification processes: Danone’s objective is to earn FSSC 22000 certification for all production sites by the end of 2021 (the target has been postponed by one year due to the Covid-19 crisis). Strengthen the quality and food safety culture Danone developed the iCare program to strengthen its employees’ quality culture with a focus on the following priorities: • develop a consumer-first mindset; • engage all its employees on quality topics; • promote visible engagement by leaders and management; • ensure that quality-related requirements and messaging are consistent and easy to understand; • encourage employees to get involved and share ideas to improve performance. The Company aims for continuous improvement and conducts as- sessments tomeasure thematurity of this culture on a regular basis. Employee training and awareness Danone relies on numerous initiatives and training courses to raise awareness and train all its employees and thereby strengthen the food quality and safety culture within the Company. In 2020, Danone expanded its training offerings to include a new e-learning course accessible to all employees. Listen to consumers Being preferredmeans continuously improving consumer satisfaction and playing a key role in the food revolution. As consumer feedback is key to achieving the highest product quality and innovation, Danone ensures that, in each market, consumers can easily share their opinions either over the phone or online. Outcomes External certifications: Danone reached a site certification rate of 89% (86% in 2019). In 2020, 140 FSSC 22000 certification audits were conducted by independent certification bodies (175 in 2019). As of December 31, 2020, 170 sites were certified and 1 was in the process of certification (see Production Site Food Safety scope, Methodology Note). Internal audits: in 2020, the Global Food Safety Audit teamconducted 50 in-house food safety audits (34 in 2019) (see Production Site Food Safety scope, Methodology Note). Opportunities Having a robust FSMS in place, anticipating food safety and quality risks and actively listening to consumers give Danone the opportunity to honor its commitment to the quality and integrity of its products. These attributes also enable the Company to respond proactively to consumers’ expectations and their need for transparency.