Published on Feb. 23, 2018
Growing sustainability from the grassroots
Sustainability
is a term that has been a business buzzword for some time now. To some it means
caring for the environment, to others it could mean making financial decisions
with an eye to the long term impact on the business. Hendrix Genetics believes,
that differing opinions and points of view regarding sustainability are
important. When we committed in 2014 to have a sustainability program, we wanted it to have an impact starting from the grassroots, all the way up to the CEO, customers, suppliers and beyond.
Beyond the ivory tower
Upon the founding of our sustainability program three main building blocks were identified:
- Animals
- People
- Planet
- Biosecurity
- Animal Welfare
- Customer Needs
Impact on the business
Sustainability is a serious topic that can have a huge impact on the business. While stakeholders identify important topics, it is senior management that must execute the plan. It is for this reason that Hendrix Genetics’ sustainability team also consulted with senior management to conduct a risk assessment and identify, which topics have the most impact on the business. Those topics are:
- Expertise
- Biosecurity
- Employee engagement
Next steps
With detailed information about what topics our stakeholders find important, combined with a full risk assessment by senior management, Hendrix Genetics can now embark on a strategic plan; to implement sustainable solutions. New projects will be born out of this work that will continually be improved upon and assessed. As one of our strategic pillars, sustainability is key in order for us to achieve our goal of Better Breeding Today, for a Brighter Life Tomorrow.
I believe that the review of our sustainability program was an important step for Hendrix Genetics. It helps us focus on the most relevant topics for our company and increases the quality of the program.