Dinant today published its 2019 Progress Report, a transparent study of the company’s policies and procedures for safely securing its facilities while engaging peacefully and respectfully with local communities. The report covers the period January 2017 through May 2019. Highlights include:
- Dinant remains the only agri-business worldwide to implement the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, an international benchmark that governs how organizations vet, recruit and train men and women working in security. Dinant has now expanded its training on the Voluntary Principles to other company areas such as sales distribution in Honduras, and to its security operations throughout Central America, starting with its Guatemalan facilities.
- Dinant continues to train guards on threat assessment, conflict avoidance, rules for the use of force, and techniques to minimize force required to repel a violent assault. In 2017, Dinant was one of two Honduran companies invited by the United States secretaries of State and Homeland Security to participate in the Conference on Prosperity and Security in Central America held in Washington, D.C.
- In October 2017, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) confirmed that Dinant had repaid its US$15 million loan, completed all requirements listed in the IFC’s Enhanced Action Plan, and was fully compliant with World Bank Performance Standard 4 on community health, safety and security.
- Dinant continues to prohibit security guards from carrying firearms at its plantations, Palm Oil extraction mills and mass consumer goods manufacturing plants. This ground-breaking initiative – introduced in 2013 with the full support of the guards and their families – has been independently verified by the IFC.
- Regional community grievance mechanisms continue to be administered by Dinant’s professional social liaison staff working at the heart of local communities. For the 11th successive year, Dinant received the prestigious Empressa Socialmente Responsible (or Socially Responsible Business) award for its outstanding commitment to local communities and the company’s efforts to achieve sustainable operations, including its supply chain and contractors. The award was presented by FUNDAHRSE, a non-profit organization that promotes respect for ethical values, local communities and the environment throughout business.
- Dinant’s growing workforce now includes 18 members of indigenous communities in the Lean and Aguan valleys, as well as 66 people with disabilities such as visual impairment.
- All Dinant facilities retained ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certifications for environmental management and occupational health & safety. Dinant’s Comayagua-based home care processing plant was certified ISO 9001 for consistently providing products that meet customer and regulatory quality requirements. Dinant’s snacks plant in San Pedro Sula was independently audited and awarded an SQF Certification score of 97% for food safety and quality. Dinant’s palm oil mills, plantations and RBD plant retained ISCC EU and ISCC Plus certifications for the sustainability of raw materials, traceability of supplies, and emissions controls. Dinant is helping its independent palm fresh fruit suppliers to be certified by ISCC; to date, 24 producers with 1,433 hectares of plantations have been certified.
- In March 2019, Dinant was recognized as a Great Place to Work© in Central America and the Caribbean based on an independent staff survey on teamwork, leadership, and the absence of discrimination in the workplace.
Company spokesman, Roger Pineda, said, “People are at the heart of Dinant’s success and at the core of our values. The 2019 Report demonstrates that, as a socially and environmentally responsible company, we respect international human rights standards and continuously think about how our operations impact our staff, our suppliers, and the communities in which we operate, and how we mitigate those impacts.”
Mr. Pineda continued, “We are proud of what we have achieved, but we know we must keep improving our operations to meet our obligations to our customers, staff, and the wider community. Only through continued investments to modernize our business can we increase sales, grow our talented workforce, and expand into new international markets. But we shall never lose sight of the need to engage peacefully and respectfully with neighboring communities. These are exciting times for Dinant and our partners.”
Dinant’s 2019 Progress Report can be found in English here: https://www.dinant.com/noticias/2019-progress-report-dinant-security-and-human-rights-implementation-program/?lang=en.
About Corporacion Dinant
Dinant is a family-owned consumer products manufacturer founded in Honduras in 1960. Its products are sold across Central America and the Dominican Republic. For more information, please visit www.dinant.com.
This material is distributed by Tricuro LLC on behalf of Corporacion Dinant. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.
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