Our approach

At Northern Foods we believe that we can make great tasting food responsibly. 

Our CR programme is built around three core principles: that all activities should be aligned with our business strategy; that these activities form part of the company’s approach to managing risk and reputation; and that we comply with legislation and good governance standards.

The food industry has been under major scrutiny and this framework has stood us in good stead. It has helped us develop and communicate our response to significant issues such as the obesity debate, consumer concerns about food provenance, carbon emissions, food waste and skills shortages. We were pleased to be recognised for our efforts by Business in the Community as one of the companies that count 2007.

It is clear that scrutiny of the food industry will not dissipate. The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, published in October 2006, added urgency to the environmental debate and in March 2007 the government set out proposals for a new climate change bill. This bill sets out a framework for reducing carbon emissions to which Northern Foods, along with the rest of the industry, is responding.

At the same time, a growing number of consumers are considering wider supply chain issues when deciding what to eat. They are putting pressure on retailers and manufacturers to give them answers to questions such as ‘how healthy is my food?’, ‘where has it come from?’ and ‘has it been made with minimal environmental impact?’.

Our CR framework

We manage the range of initiatives within our CR agenda under three headlines:

• In the Marketplaces in which we operate we are focused on promoting Healthy balanced lifestyles
• In the Workplace where we operate, our goal is to ensure that our people believe that Northern Foods is a Good place to work
• In responding to issues around the Environment our objective is to play our part in delivering a Trusted supply chain

Additionally, we recognise that in all our spheres of business, we have an impact on the Communities we touch.  Specific initiatives within our three core programmes reflect that impact.