There is no doubt that employer branding has become very important in today’s business world. Simply put, employer branding corresponds to the internal actions and efforts that the employer makes to impact the “employee experience” – what the employee experiences within the organization. Through this, the company can build an image and reputation that favors attracting and retaining human talent.
Investments in infrastructure and innovation build a more dynamic and competitive economy by creating jobs and providing people with needed income. Promoting new technologies stimulates international trade and enables the efficient use of resources.
It consists of discovering new ways to undertake certain processes or practices to add value to products. Invention allows companies to be more competitive, to create a culture of continuous improvement and to offer a balanced portfolio. Correspondingly, trust and unity between employees and their leaders drives innovation through the exchange of ideas.
The implementation of new technologies allows companies to discover and leverage new business opportunities and to expand into new markets. Technology is more than a mere opportunity. It has become a key element to survive globalization by eliminating barriers and solving problems.
It is important to emphasize that innovation is not only acquiring new tools or recent technology; it is, instead, the use of these assets to improve processes. Effective innovation is done in an organized manner:
AgroAmerica is constantly innovating in order to maintain its world-class status. Innovation is fundamental to achieving sustainability and maximum productivity. We develop new products with high nutritional value through the responsible and efficient use of resources, while generating employment for the economic development of people and communities.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to achieve universal equality, protect the environment and move towards leaving no one behind. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has 17 goals, which have been accepted and signed by 193 countries. These countries have committed to take the necessary actions to achieve these goals. In this article we will talk about the sustainable development goal 2: zero hunger.
One of these 17 goals is to eradicate hunger in the world through food security, improved nutrition and the promotion of sustainable agriculture. According to the 2020 United Nations’ (UN) Global Report on Food Crises, around 690 million people suffer from hunger; of these, about 135 million suffer from severe hunger.
Extreme hunger and malnutrition are two of the main obstacles to achieving sustainable development and SDG 2: Zero Hunger aims to remove these barriers. What are the consequences of hunger? Hunger negatively affects people’s living conditions by causing people to be less productive and to suffer from more diseases. How can we achieve “zero hunger”? We can provide equal access to adequate, healthy and nutritious food.
Some of the goals of this plan of action for 2030 are:
Achieving these goals will ensure that there is enough safe and nutritious food for everyone.
At AgroAmerica we contribute to the achievement of this goal through 2 pillars of our sustainability strategy:
Everyone can support the fight against hunger through either modest or significant actions in their own surroundings. Increasing agricultural productivity and sustainable food production will help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The International Labour Organization‘s (ILO) 8th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG8): “Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth and decent work for all” aims to promote full and decent employment while achieving inclusive economic development. “This drives progress to improve the living standards of all people. The eradication of poverty depends, to a certain extent, on stable work with living wages.”
According to the (ILO), decent work is work that dignifies and allows the development of one’s capabilities. In other words, it is work that provides personal, economic and professional development opportunities for employees by respecting labor rights and principles, providing a fair income according to the work performed, promoting inclusion, protecting people socially and encouraging dialogue. Decent work is characterized by four elements:
Some of the goals that are expected to be achieved by 2030 are:
At AgroAmerica, we respect the rights of all our employees and we work with suppliers that are also committed to following the principles and practices of decent work. This minimizes operational risks while optimizing costs and allows transparent and responsible access to new markets. To ensure this, our Human Rights Policy was updated in 2021 to reaffirm our commitment to the people who work with us.
Additionally, we provide training for our staff, our suppliers and other companies involved in our operating plants so workers are aware of their rights and the importance of respecting them. Throughout 2021, we succeeded in training more than 3,800 employees on our internal policies.
Promoting decent work contributes to democracy and social integration. It also enables men and women to have access to the same opportunities
The World Banana Forum has become an assembly dedicated to the improvement of the industry and the promotion of better sustainable production practices. Different stakeholders (retailers, importers, producers, exporters, associations and governments, among others) of the global banana supply chain work together based on the idea that collaboration is the key to achieving advancement.
The Forum’s main mission is to foster collaboration among all stakeholders for industry improvement and to build a consensus on the implementation of good practices in labor, equity, environmental impact, sustainable production and economics.
The Forum consists of 3 commissions:
AgroAmerica is committed to the fair treatment of our employees and contributing to their well-being and thus are part of the Working Commission on Value Distribution of the World Banana Forum. The Living Wages for Life initiative seeks to provide economic sustainability by establishing benchmarks for living wages in the industry.
We have incorporated traceability as an essential element in the business and commercial environment. It makes it possible to identify, trace and locate the origin of products or components within the production chain. Traceability has become the key to food safety in the food industry since it monitors food throughout the production, transportation and distribution chains.
Traceability links the flow of goods and their associated information. This continuous exchange of knowledge provides an advantage for three critical participants in the food industry:
At its core, traceability consists of keeping a detailed record of the actions, processes and places a food product passes through from its origin to its final destination.
Implementing a traceability system is a simple process but it will bring many benefits, among them:
AgroAmerica guarantees the quality of its food products with a traceability system that ensures food safety from the soil to the store shelves where consumers buy their food. The vertically integrated supply chain is designed to control the entire process in accordance with international standards.
Today, due to the numerous demands of the market, many organizations take on increasingly complex challenges, which allow them to acquire competitive advantages. Assuming these new challenges requires not only optimizing internal organizational processes and guidelines, but also forming and developing high-performance teams. In this scenario, leaders become facilitators for the simultaneous transformation of the organization and the members of the teams.
It was previously believed that the main objective of leaders was to achieve organizational goals by maintaining order, stability and balance through standardized processes. However, over time this process has become a complex theme. Leaders now take on a more dynamic role, in which they help their teams achieve a level of excellence and integrated development by strengthening their multidisciplinary skills.
High-performance teams are formed through commitment to the mission, positive and respectful interactions, a “shared trust” in mutual success, assigned objectives and the promotion of individual and group growth. Every member of the team must understand the shared responsibility for themselves and for their teammates.
Creating high-performance teams requires leaders to look strategically at the individual, group and organizational components of their company.
As Walt Disney said, “Many hands and hearts and minds generally contribute to anyone’s notable achievements.” We must understand that we do not manage high-performance teams because it is fashionable, but because we are aware that, through people, we can achieve the full scope of our business objectives. Our responsible commitment is to generate and promote quality of life in the workplace for our employees. What are the attributes that determine if our teams can be high-performing?
AgroAmérica cares about building high-performance teams and creating productive and efficient collaborative spaces. We form teams that are passionate about their work and that have the desire to forge agreements and move in unison to reach the proposed goals.
Beginning with a focus on inclusion, we take advantage of the diversity of our human talent to form a comprehensive and collaborative work team. Leveraging individual skills and competencies leads to the sustainability of our operations. More than a company, we are a family working for the common good, because we know that we must “do well by doing good”.
Human rights have gained worldwide relevance because they help satisfy the basic needs of people and communities. Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the right to work and the right to just and favorable labor conditions. People have the right to work in order to have a dignified human existence, without this work being limited to simply having a source of employment. Employers must provide working conditions that offer fair financial compensation, equal treatment for all and a safe working environment.
AgroAmerica knows that by providing fair working conditions we are contributing to the respect and development of human rights and helping to eradicate poverty. Our policies and actions are guided by our commitment to human rights issues, provide good working conditions and promote workplace inclusion and equality for all our workers.
When making our materiality map, and based on our commitment to human rights, we identified 5 relevant issues related to human rights and work. Working conditions, training and culture, fair salary, gender and inclusion, and occupational health and safety constitute the “Our People” pillar.
Our purpose is to offer dignified conditions to our employees so that they can develop personally and professionally. We provide our workforce with training to acquire knowledge in different areas. We value their efforts and dedication and we help them meet their needs and those of their families. This value is reflected in the living wage –established through the living wage methodology– we offer our employees. We ensure labor inclusion and equality by offering the same opportunities to men and women, regardless of their condition, and we guarantee occupational health and safety by providing doctors and clinics in our operating plants.
These are some of the actions that we have implemented that allow us to provide a good work environment focused on the well-being of our employees. In this way, we make a difference.
The Rainforest Alliance certification, through its Sustainable Agriculture standard, allows companies to validate that their production is sustainable and with better crops.
The bananas and natural ingredients that AgroAmerica produces have the Rainforest Alliance certification, which guarantees their sustainability. AgroAmerica prioritizes the conservation of natural resources and biodiversity and the well-being of people, employees, and nearby communities. On the other hand, the Rainforest Alliance Identity Preserved Certification guarantees that all the fruit processed in AgroAmerica’s natural ingredients plant has the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal.
The Rainforest Alliance Certified seal allows consumers to recognize and choose products that contribute to a better future for people and the planet. The little green frog on the seal means that the certified product or ingredient was made using methods that support the three pillars of sustainability: social, economic, and environmental. This responds to the market demands, which is looking for better products and the guarantee that they are produced sustainably and responsibly, contributing to a healthier planet.
The Rainforest Alliance certification standards focus on the following topics:
The certification seal is the “green frog,” which has become an international symbol of sustainability. According to Rainforest, frogs are what scientists call bioindicators—meaning that a healthy population of frogs indicates a healthy environment. This is why the Rainforest Alliance chose the red-eyed tree frog as its mascot more than thirty years ago, as this bright-eyed amphibian is commonly found in the neotropics, where our founders first started working to protect tropical rainforests.
According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), about 14% of the total food produced is lost in the supply chain. When it reaches consumers’ homes, there is also significant food waste. Sometimes people buy excessive quantities that spoil over time or serve more significant portions than they will consume. These practices directly impact natural resources.
Factors such as work, effort, resources used during production, and transportation are wasted when wasting food. This increases greenhouse gas emissions, which affects the environment. Food lost during the supply chain is known as ‘food loss’, while food lost at the consumer level is called ‘food waste’. Reducing both is critical to eradicating famine globally and promoting food security.
Implementing practices to avoid food waste and loss contributes to achieving 3 Sustainable Development Goals: zero hunger, responsible production and consumption, and climate action. But what measures can be taken from homes? Here are some tips that the FAO proposes:
AgroAmerica has innovated in terms of sustainability under the commitment of “zero waste” in the production of its bananas. The bananas that are not exported are used to transform them into high-quality natural ingredients, or to make banana flour that serves as a nutritional supplement for children in the areas where we operate. With these actions, the company seeks to reduce food loss, support food security and contribute to the fight against climate change.
