How To Thrive Strategies
Since formalizing Leprino Food Company’s approach to Global Responsibility in 2013, we have increased our attention to and investment in the ways we demonstrate our sustainability responsibilities. GR is one of our five strategic business priorities, and it is integrated throughout the other four. In 2021, we established our How to Thrive GR Strategies. These initiatives collectively support efforts across our Global Responsibility categories, which address environmental and social aspects of our operations. They are designed to help us deliver on our GR commitments.
How to Thrive
We all can successfully improve the environment, our communities and peoples’ lives. At Leprino Foods, we thrive when we and our stakeholders prosper. Together, we create a sustainable future for all.
Engage Our People to Accelerate Performance
Create a Pipeline of Sustainable Innovation
Connect and Strengthen Our Communities
Learn, Benchmark and Prioritize
Deliver on our Climate Action Commitments
Global Responsibility Governance
The Leprino Foods senior leadership team is ultimately accountable for the company’s GR efforts. In 2021, we created a new dedicated role to oversee the continued advancement of GR across the company. This position reports to the chief procurement officer and vice president of government affairs and GR. A cross-functional group of senior leaders comprises a steering committee that develops and directs initiatives, sets performance goals and ensures integration of GR principles across the company. The Leprino Foods president is the executive sponsor and an active member of the committee.
Responsibility as a Supplier
Responsibility is an important dimension of quality for our customers, who rely on us not only to deliver high-quality cheese and nutrition products but also to run our operations responsibly, safely and ethically. One of the ways we execute on this is by hosting third-party SMETA (Sedex Member Ethical Trade Audit) evaluations. Sedex, the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange, is an international not-for-profit membership organization that helps drive improvements in global supply chains. Sedex develops third-party audit standards that evaluate suppliers in the areas of ethical and responsible labor practices, health and safety standards, and environmental and business practices.
Collaborations for Shared Progress
Leprino Foods has long taken the lead in promoting positive change throughout the dairy value chain. Participation and leadership in national and international organizations and initiatives enables us to connect with peers and key stakeholders, to share strong practices, and to support industrywide progress. Collectively, these efforts promote dairy’s contribution to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Leprino Foods has been an early contributor to and adopter of U.S. dairy’s social responsibility and environmental stewardship initiatives led by the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. The Innovation Center serves as a pre-competitive forum through which the U.S. dairy community demonstrates its collective commitment to providing the world with responsibly produced dairy foods that nourish people, strengthen communities and foster a future that helps our global community thrive.
In 2018, Leprino Foods formally adopted the U.S. Dairy Stewardship Commitment, U.S. dairy’s social responsibility pledge to consumers, customers and other stakeholders. Companies that adopt the Stewardship Commitment meet defined criteria in important areas like animal care, the environment and food safety, and they collectively report on impacts. In 2021, the Stewardship Commitment gained recognition and buyer support across dairy’s global customer base through the SDP .
We are a member of the Global Dairy Platform and participate in many of its initiatives. Leprino Foods was among the first dairy companies to support the GDP’s Pathways to Dairy Net Zero climate initiative, which aims to accelerate climate change action and reduce GHG emissions across the dairy sector.
The Stewardship Commitment and Sustainable Dairy Partnership are aligned with GDP’s Dairy Sustainability Framework (DSF), the global framework for a holistic approach to sustainability in the dairy value chain. The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy is an aggregating member of the DSF for the U.S. companies that adopt the Stewardship Commitment.
In 2021, Leprino Foods became a user of the Sustainable Dairy Partnership (SDP). Built on the DSF, the SDP is a globally relevant, yet regionally applicable, sustainable sourcing model developed by multinational brands and overseen by the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform’s Dairy Work Group. As an implementing member, we are committed to effectively managing the 11 criteria and alignment with the 4 Foundational Elements. In December 2023, we were fully verified through Stage 3 of the SDP, among the first US companies to reach this level.
Contributing To The UN Sustainable Development Goals
Our products, operational practices and GR initiatives can directly and indirectly contribute to the achievement of the SDGs.
The SDGs most closely aligned with the impacts of our products and GR initiatives are highlighted below.
Additionally, our philanthropic efforts support many of the other goals.
