Why Maple Leaf Foods adopted Shared Value business strategy

A shared value business strategy helps Maple Leaf Foods offer transparency and value throughout the supply chain.

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(Maple Leaf Foods)
(Maple Leaf Foods)

A shared value business strategy helps Maple Leaf Foods offer transparency and value throughout the supply chain, Tim Faveri, Vice President, Sustainability & Shared Value at Maple Leaf Foods, said during Agrivision 2021.

“We seek to create business value that’s profitable growth and long-term competitiveness by addressing social and environmental issues,” he explained. “That intersection, for us, is shared value. It’s a business strategy to drive economic success and competitiveness.”

The business strategy uses “policies and operating practices that enhance the competitiveness of a company while simultaneously advancing the economic and social conditions in the communities in which it operates. Shared value creation focuses on identifying and expanding the connections between societal and economic progress,” according to the Shared Value Initiative.

“When you break down what shared value is all about for a food company, you have to reconfigure your products or enter into new markets to address social and environmental issues. You have to become very efficient within your supply chain,” Faveri added. 

He also stressed that a program like this takes deep and meaningful engagement from all levels of management in an organization, otherwise employees will view it as just another corporate strategy.

Building on CSR and ESG

Shared value builds on the components of corporate social responsibility (CSR) or environmental, social, governance (ESG) programs. 

Brands use CSR programs to demonstrate good corporate citizenship, including environmental efforts, philanthropy, ethical labor practices and volunteering. ESG programs take it one step further by evaluating a variety of social concerns including diversity, employee relations, consumer protection and animal welfare.

“What we’re seeing is that sustainability has evolved again. Companies have become purposeful,” Faveri said. “I think we can safely say that the terms CSR and triple bottom line are in the past and companies are now focusing on sustainability and focus.” 

Maple Leaf Foods, according to its website, is a producer of food products under leading brands including Maple Leaf, Maple Leaf Prime, Maple Leaf Natural Selections, Schneider's, Country Naturals, Mina, Greenfield Natural Meat Co., Lightlife, Field Roast Grain Meat Co. and Swift. Maple Leaf employs approximately 13,000 people and does business in Canada, the U.S. and Asia. The company is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario.

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