Case study: How CPF creates economic value for its stakeholders
Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited, or “CPF”, is an agro-industrial and food conglomerate headquartered in Thailand and the world’s largest producer of feed and shrimp. Conducting its business in a way that also creates lasting economic benefits for its stakeholders, is a top priority for CPF.
This case study is based on the 2020 Sustainability Report by CPF, 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.
Abstract
CPF seeks to create sustainable value for all its stakeholders Tweet This!, including employees, shareholders and the wider society, as a reliable, value-adding partner. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders CPF took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for shareholders
- create economic value for the government
- create economic value for the wider society
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) CPF has identified;
- How CPF proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by CPF to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2020 Sustainability Report CPF identified a range of material issues, such as food quality and safety, water management, employee well-being, health and safety, climate change management. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for CPF.
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 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 CPF engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Shareholders and Investors | · Meetings, conferences calls, e-mails throughout the year · 2 site visits per year · Quarterly meetings with analysts and fund managers |
| Employees and Families | · Annual CEO Town Hall at least once a year, CEO Corner · Intranet, CPF Connect mobile application · E-mails, e-newsletters, HR communications (video clips, announcements) throughout the year · Quarterly Welfare Committee, and Safety Committee meetings · Labour Voice Hotline by LPN · Annual employee satisfaction surveys · Open dialogues, meetings, throughout the year · Annual performance evaluation |
| Customers and Consumers
| · Monthly meetings · 1-2 site visits and audits per year · Annual surveys · Customer Service Centre and CPF Consumer Centre throughout the year · Consumers needs research at least once a year |
| Business Partners | · Meetings throughout the year · Phones, E-mails and Call Centre throughout the year · Seminars, site visits at least once a year · Special joint initiatives as appropriate · Audits at least once a year · Annual surveys |
| Communities and Societies | · Annual community surveys · Complaint channels · Quality of life promotion programmes · Annual ongoing dialogues and visits |
| Governments | · Meetings throughout the year · Participation and support in initiating and developing creative projects and activities as appropriate · Seminars |
| Civil Society Organisations and Academia | · Open discussions in meetings and seminars throughout the year · Quarterly site visits · Supporting partnership networks as appropriate |
| Media | · Communication via Public Relations throughout the year · Open discussions throughout the year · 2 press conferences and interviews per month · 1-2 site visits per month · Supporting and participating in media events as appropriate |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics CPF engaged with its stakeholders through stakeholder engagement surveys and interviews.
What actions were taken by CPF to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2020 Sustainability Report CPF reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2020, CPF paid 61,654 million THB for employee compensation and benefits.
- Creating economic value for shareholders
- In 2020, CPF spent 8,461 million THB in dividends paid to shareholders.
- Creating economic value for the government
- In 2020, the income tax paid by CPF reached 9,038 million THB.
- Creating economic value for the wider society
- In 2020, CPF spent 602.3 million THB in social support activities.
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 CPF, 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.cpfworldwide.com/storage/sustainability_report/CPF_SR2020_EN.pdf
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