Danone Ireland’s 'Specialised Nutrition' business, whose brands include Nutricia, Aptamil and Cow & Gate, has announced its certification as a B Corp this week.

The achievement marks the full certification of all Danone’s operations in Ireland as well as the UK, building on the accreditation of its other businesses over the past five years.

Danone Dairy Ireland first announced its B Corp accreditation in Ireland in 2019.

B Corp certified businesses are verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance and public transparency – with a proven commitment to balance profit and purpose.

The certification requires businesses to assess their practices across five impact areas: Governance; workers; environment; community; and customers.

The assessment of Specialised Nutrition recognised Danone’s progressive environmental and social practices, resulting in a score of 90.2 across all operations, including manufacturing.

Actions that contributed to its certification include:

Killian Barry, managing director of Danone Ireland said: “Our Specialised Nutrition business, which includes our Wexford and Macroom factories, becoming B Corp certified is a significant achievement – and one we hope will inspire other companies and manufacturing sites to engage with the B Corp values and join the community of like-minded businesses.

"We’re incredibly proud to have this recognised through B Corp certification – the culmination of a lot of hard work by employees across all levels.”

James Mayer, president for Danone UK and Ireland added: “It's fantastic to witness the accelerating growth of the B Corp Community, both in Ireland and the UK, and around the world.

"There has never been a more critical time for greater action from responsible businesses. And more than ever, people want to buy from, work for, invest in and partner with businesses they trust to make a positive impact."

Danone is a global food, drink and healthcare company whose brands include household names such as Actimel; Activia; Alpro; Aptamil; Cow & Gate; Evian; and Volvic.

In Ireland, Danone employs a total of almost 700 people, including at two supply points in Macroom and Wexford and offices in Dublin with a total of 2000 employees across eight locations in the UK and Ireland.