Dannon Yogurt Company Sustainability Analysis

The method is robust in ways in which it looks into the various aspects of the research question. The study is interested in the business sustainability information of Dannon Yogurt Company, particular its yogurt product. The information, therefore, is mostly available in business reports, journals, as well as books published to inform the company’s shareholders of the status of growth, sustainability, and development. Entrepreneurs like the shareholders are interested in the company’s profitability and sustainability strategies that they depend on to help with decisions on whether to invest in the company, become partners or not. Thus, the method was imperative for obtaining the desired information for review purposes and consequent analyses.

Search

The search mainly focused on finding online materials including articles, transcript of interviews, journals, business reports, Magazines, and electronic books about the company. Keywords comprised Dannon Yogurt Company, Dannon business sustainability, Dannon yogurt, Dannon sustainability strategies, and Dannon operations. The particular search engines used included Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Ask.com. The key words were run into the search engines and 12 materials with relevant information on the company were downloaded.

Exclusion/Inclusion Criteria

Any material published or written earlier than 2005 was excluded from the analyses. Materials that did not discuss sustainability in terms of the product, production and consumption were equally excluded. On the other hand, references materials date 2006 to 2018 were included for analyses. In addition, they had to specifically contain relevant information aligned to Dannon sustainability strategies as regards the main product which is Yogurt. Following the search procedures and the implementation of the inclusion/exclusion approaches, only six materials were found to be most relevant to the study, hence were subjected to further detailed examinations and analyses upon which the finding was recorded.

Findings

How and where the product is produced

Yogurt which is the major product of Dannon Company is produced using fresh milk as well as condensed milk supplied by the farmers it has contracted. The yogurt comes in a variety based on tastes and added flavors to meet the target customer’s preferences. The common brands include Activa, Light and Fit, Danimals, Danonino, DanActive, and Oikos. The aforementioned verity of products according to Breslin, (2010, p. nd) are produced in three of the U.S based processing facilities which are found in Ohio, West Jordan, and Texas. All the three are strategically located to easily access their raw materials as well as access about 90 % of the company’s customers within twenty-four hours. To ensure sustainability of the product, the company had contracted suppliers as well as gotten into partnership with the farmers who specifically produce milk for the company. Moreover, the company began to outsource some of its raw materials through Aspen two years ago.

Sustainability of the Product, Its Production, and Consumption

Sustainability in Yogurt Production is dependent on the consistent operations and voluminous production of several tons of yogurts per day. For example, the Dannon production in Ohio which the largest of all the plants is able to produce more than 3 million cups of yogurt per day. The West Jordan facility likewise produces approximately 32 ounces of yogurt containers or 1000 million pounds of yogurt annually. The Company’s third facility in Texas equally produces greater volumes of yogurt per day compared production at West Jordan. Dannon’s supply of fresh milk, as well as condensed milk, is in surplus that it has laid down expansion projects in each of the three plants to meet the processing of the increasing supply of the raw agricultural produce (Thorp & Goldstein, 2013, p.88).

In terms of customer sustainability, the company is able to produce adequate amounts of yogurt as demanded by its target customers. Similarly, it sustains consumption of its customers by keeping both its potential and actual customers by responding to their concerns. For instance, while a section of the customers can to with the current products, the company has started to produce yogurt products made of non-GMO inputs (Cateora & Graham, 2007, p. 33).

The Environmental and Social Impacts Related to the Production, Distribution, Consumption, and End-Of-Life Processes of Yogurt

In terms of environmental impact, the processes involved in producing the end product leads to the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon monoxide produced by the Company’s plants and tracks on the distribution channel. The end life process of the product causes environmental pollution by way of increasing the amount of plastic contains disposed of in the environment. The production process involves consumption water for processing as well as cooling the heating systems.

The above mention aspects of environmental hazards if not for the sustainability strategies employed by the company could have been detrimental to the environment. As such, to minimize carbon footprint, the Company is multi-sourcing its product from various facilities which not only serve to reduce the distance covered during transportations to manage time distributions but also ensures that customer is provided with fresh yogurt. As of the year 2012, there was a reduction of the distance traveled by about 1.8 miles. As such, 292,000 gallons of fuel was saved while the company reduced its transportation expenses by approximately $2.86 million (Dannon Company, 2015, p.nd),. Additionally, the reduction in millage resulted in a reduction of carbon emission by 2.34% translating to 3.7% reduction in carbon footprint for the whole supply chain (Dannon Company, 2015, p.nd). To minimize water and conserve water, the company has contracted associated farmers and helps them establish milk condensing processing plants in which they are now to condense milk and recycle the condensed water during pasteurization and well as that used in the cooling parts.

Nevertheless, reduces environmental pollution by plastics that could have otherwise littered the environment, the company uses form-filled seal packaging lines. The use of form-filled packaging technique cut the cost of production by reducing the number of transportations and fuel consumed when transporting empty pre-formed cups. Finally, concerning general transportation, the company is in partnership with SmartWay Transporters which are basically tracking companies under the U.s environmental protection agency. Through the transporters, emission of carbon is reduced to minimum levels as most of them are designed with modern conversion technics to convert the produced carbon into other harmless products.

Correspondingly, the company has certain notable social impacts.  According to Radjou, Prabhu, and Ahuja (2012, p.47), many of the impacts are in correspondence with the company’s adoption of corporate social responsibility programs. As such, the company contributes to the development projects of the communities around the regions in which it operates. As such, it sponsors physical activities within schools to ensure that children and students take part in physical activities on a daily basis to help them stay healthy. Besides the physical activity’s program, the company is education scholarship programs for students who meet their award criteria. To the hungry community members, the company donates tons of yogurt and other dairy products to help keep a healthy population around areas in which it is operational.

Work and Life Conditions for the People Who Produce Part of These Products

In regards to work and living conditions, it was inferred as highlighted by Dannon Company (2015,p.nd), that the suppliers and associate farmers who directly or indirectly help in production of part of the product strictly have a duty to ensure that they deliver raw materials as per the guiding terms and conditions. Where possible, the Company has chipped in to offer any necessary assistance that can make their work more efficient and that at the same live quality life to continue being productive (Meena, Mishra, Bisht, & Pattanayak, 2017,p.232). For example, the McCarty family was assisted by the company back in 2012 to erect a condensation plant. Currently, the family’s farm is responsible for producing 100% of the milk though in condensed form to be used in the Fort Worth. As such, it is not only with McCarty’s that the company has provided for continuous, better work life and improved standards of lifestyle but also to the other supply who constitute the chain of supply as well as production.

The Relationship between the People, Companies, and Organizations Engaged In the Production of This Product

As could be deciphered from Dannon Company (2015, p.nd), the relationship that Dannon’s management keeps with the people, associated companies, and other relevant organizations are strictly professional. In order to sustain its operations, it has ensured that it listens to the needs as well as wants of its customers. For example, it is through professional relationship and the need to sustain its customer base that it ventured into producing non-genetically modified labeled yogurt products. The customers, on the other hand, are proud and loyal to the company since it listens to their demands and expectations, observes the need to protect their environment and help them grow. The other companies and organizations which are in partnership with Dannon Company including Aspen that deals with the company’s logistical storage aspects has to as well has to maintain professional relationships as expected by Dannon’s management (Breslin, 2010, p.nd). Through each party is responsible for its obligations, the company has been able to achieve sustainability in its operations in which productions, transportations, product deliveries have been on time. In so doing, the company has been able to meet the consumers’ consumption demands while at the same time maintaining a smooth chain of supply.

References

Breslin, M. (2010). Logistics Outsourcing.An Active Culture at Dannon. Retrieved form http://www.inboundlogistics.com/cms/article/logistics-outsourcing-an-active-culture-at-dannon/

Danon Campany.(2015). Strategic Innitiatives. Retrieved from http://www.dannon.com/wp content/uploads/2014/02/2015_Dannon_Sustainability_Brochure.pdf

Meena, V. S., Mishra, P. K., Bisht, J. K., & Pattanayak, A. (2017). Agriculturally important microbes for sustainable agriculture. Volume 2, Volume 2. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=5050558.

Radjou, N., Prabhu, J. C., & Ahuja, S. (2012). Jugaad innovation: think frugal, be flexible, generate breakthrough growth. San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass.

Thorp, H. H., & Goldstein, B. (2013). Engines of innovation: the entrepreneurial university in the twenty-first century. Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10425443.

Cateora, P. R., & Graham, J. L. (2007). International marketing. Boston, Mass, McGraw-Hill