Certified Facilities: 2,010
Countries Represented: 64
Industries Represented: 66
Number of Employees: 1,119,145

"In 1998, Chiquita's then president Steve Warshaw called on his team to develop a concept of "corporate responsibility," which would enable the company to ensure and demonstrate that it acted responsible and as a good citizen wherever it operated.  A corporate responsibility steering committee was formed to develop the framework and advise the CEO and his senior management team.
 
After considerable discussion, the steering committee decided to adopt the SA8000 social accountability standard. SA8000 offered important features: a standard based on national laws, international human rights norms, and the conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO); developed by experts including trade union leaders; independent audits and certification; management system requirements for consistent implementation over time.
 
The SA8000 certification of Chiquita's owned banana farms was completed in 2004 in five countries, the first such certifications in Latin American agriculture. In 1999, Jeff Zalla became Chiquita's first Corporate Responsibility Officer, in recognition of his decisive leadership. Chiquita began to publish corporate responsibility (CR) reports in 2001. The frank presentation of the results of Rainforest Alliance and SA8000 assessments in the first CR Report was met with praise: SustainAbility and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) rated Chiquita's report the best in the food industry, commenting on its "courageous account on weaknesses." 

SAI has been working with Gap Inc. and the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF) at the Lima-based apparel company Topy Top SA, to strengthen dialogue and improve relations between management and the union, SINTOTTSA. A training program on policies and procedures for better communications, grievance handling and disciplinary practices, was one of the results of an agreement signed in June 2007 between the Topy Top management, SINTOTTSA, Gap Inc., the ITGLWF, and Inditex, in which both the company and the union pledged to "co-operate together to develop a mature system of industrial relations with the objective of making Topy Top viable, profitable and internationally competitive based on the principle of decent work and grounded in respect for the Peruvian Labour Laws and the International Labour Standards subscribed by Peru."
 
SAI and ITGLWF designed and delivered two series of workshops for management and union representatives at Topy Top. The first took place in April, when the two groups (management and supervisors on the one hand and union representatives on the other) worked in separate groups to cover the main points of the agreement and analyze the three procedures. In the second workshop in October, the two groups worked jointly to analyze specific challenges at the company, and discussed proposals for solutions. 

Two of the challenges identified by both management and workers at Topy Top are a] coping with the effects of short-term contracts and b] difficulties in understanding and meeting production quotas. The procedures for communication, grievance handling and discipline are aimed at providing mechanisms for workers and management to address these and other workplace issues that were identified, in the context of an improved and strengthened dialogue between the union and management. 
 
Please look for more about this program, and photos, in the November issue of the newsletter.

In Cesena, Italy, on October 8, SAI Board of Directors member, Riccardo Bagni, Vice-President of COOP Italia, and Maurizio Zucchi, Quality Director of Coop Italia presented COOP Guidelines for the safety of workers in the agro-industrial sector at a meeting with suppliers. These guidelines are part of the "Coop for Work" project.

In Italy, workplace safety has become a real emergency, especially in the agro-industrial sector: in 2008, although the total number of accidents slightly decreased, the number of fatal accidents increased by an alarming 15.2%.

 
The Guidelines developed by Coop Italia for agro-industrial suppliers are a practical tool, addressed to all the operators of this sector. They highlight the main risks, summarize requirements and prevention measures required by legislation, and suggest what to do to reduce the dangers of work in agriculture.
 
With this project, Coop urges all its suppliers of Coop branded products to actively contribute to the growth of a culture of prevention, by involving agro-industries. The Guidelines include: 1] specific references to compliance with workplace safety legislative requirements in supply contracts, 2] selection of suppliers based on their ability to guarantee such requirements, 3] checking on the correct implementation of the regulations, and 4] providing corrective actions and sharing of critical problems.
 
Coop will promote meetings with groups of suppliers to learn about the activities carried out, the results achieved and the critical points and improvement areas identified, together with new proposals and suggestions.