Case study: How AgroFair creates economic value for its stakeholders
AgroFair is a socially responsible enterprise founded in 1996 by the Dutch NGO Solidaridad, for the sole purpose of launching the Fairtrade banana on the market. Generating sustainable value for employees, shareholders and other stakeholders, is a top priority for AgroFair. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2021/2022 Sustainability Report by AgroFair, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards, that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
AgroFair constantly seeks to optimise its operations, such as purchase and sale, transport and production, so as to create long-term value for all its stakeholders. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders AgroFair took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for providers of capital
- create economic value for governments
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) AgroFair has identified;
- How AgroFair proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by AgroFair to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2021/2022 Sustainability Report AgroFair identified a range of material issues, such as workers’ rights and well-being, water management, CO2 emissions and climate change, waste reduction and recycling. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for AgroFair.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process s of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups AgroFair engages with:
| Stakeholder Group |
| Retailers |
| Shareholders |
| Employees |
| Small producers and plantation workers |
| Other stakeholders (certifiers, NGOs) |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics AgroFair engaged with its stakeholders through face-to-face conversations, meetings and workshops.
What actions were taken by AgroFair to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2021/2022 Sustainability Report AgroFair reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2021, AgroFair paid € 536 thousand for employee wages and benefits.
- Creating economic value for providers of capital
- In 2021, AgroFair paid €283 thousand to providers of capital.
- Creating economic value for governments
- In 2021, AgroFair paid €485 thousand to governments in various countries.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed
Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.1, 8.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Targets: 9.1, 9.4, 9.5
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References:
This case study is based on published information by AgroFair, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:
https://www.agrofair.nl/wp-content/uploads/AgroFair-Sustainability-Report-2021-lr.pdf
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