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SustainAbility Ranks Chiquita's Corporate Responsibility Reporting Among World's Best
SustainAbility Ranks Chiquita's Corporate Responsibility Reporting Among World's Best
Published 11-20-02
Submitted by Chiquita Brands International, Inc.
“Chiquita sets new standards with detailed assessment of its farms in Latin America, using a rigorous set of environmental standards set by the (Rainforest Alliance’s) Better Banana Project, as well as ethical labor standards in SA8000,” SustainAbility’s editors wrote in Trust Us: The Global Reporters 2002 Survey of Corporate Sustainability Reporting. “Its coverage includes some courageous accounts of weaknesses and failures, some of the most candid and honest reporting we have seen to date.”
Trust Us is the latest in a series of international benchmark surveys produced since 1993 by SustainAbility for the United Nations Environmental Program. The most recent survey builds on the work of The Global Reporters ranking published in 2000, identifying and analyzing the 50 top reports from around the world.
“We’re proud to be highlighted among this leadership group for the depth and transparency of our reporting,” said Jeff Zalla, corporate responsibility officer. “We learned an enormous amount from the first issue of The Global Reporters two years ago, and we are honored now to be featured as an innovator in this rapidly evolving field.”
In its second corporate responsibility report, Chiquita details the company’s progress in reaching the goals for the banana divisions in Latin America outlined last year and strengthens its social reporting by including verification opinions from some of the most respected observers of labor rights performance in Latin America.
In its 2002 survey, SustainAbility narrowed a field of 235 noteworthy reports to 100, from which the report selection committee chose the top 50 it judged to “represent an enlightening array of international best practice that will serve to further develop and advance the field of sustainability reporting globally.”
Founded in 1987, SustainAbility is an international consultancy specializing in business strategy and sustainable development – environmental improvement, social equity and economic development. Additional information about SustainAbility and Trust Us: The Global Reporters 2002 Survey of Corporate Sustainability Reporting is available at www.sustainability.com/trust-us.
Chiquita Brands International is a leading international marketer, producer and distributor of high-quality fresh and processed foods. The company’s Chiquita Fresh division is one of the largest banana producers in the world and a major supplier of bananas in North America and Europe. Sold primarily under the premium Chiquita® brand, the company also distributes and markets a variety of other fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, Chiquita Processed Foods is the largest processor of private-label canned vegetables in the United States. Additional information about Chiquita and its corporate responsibility efforts are available at www.chiquita.com.
Chiquita Brands International, Inc.
