Who We Support
Community Investment
Our vision is to be the natural source of dairy nutrition for everybody, everywhere, every day. The communities in which we operate are integral to this vision and our long-term viability as a sustainable dairy business. We take seriously our social responsibility to our employees, customers, business partners, consumers and our local communities. For us doing the right thing means keeping our people safe and healthy, minimising our environmental footprint, developing healthier products and helping to make our local communities vibrant and engaging places to live and work.We align our community partnerships with our company values and our core business competencies. Our key community programmes are in the following areas of Health and Nutrition, Rural Community, Environmental Sustainability and Innovation & Science.
Fonterra's aim is to build long-term, focused partnerships and sustained commitment at a grassroots level.
New Zealand
Fonterra Rebuilding Communities Programme
Fonterra's earthquake support fund, the Fonterra Rebuilding Communities programme, is currently calling for applications from Christchurch community groups, clubs and schools.
If you have a project in Christchurch that needs support, we're ready to lend a hand. We can provide up to $5,000 support for community projects that fit within the eligibility criteria. For more information click here.
Rise Up Christchurch
Fonterra is passionate about rebuilding Christchurch and on 22 May 2011 we proudly supported Rise Up Christchurch "Te Kotahitanga", a 12-hour global telethon which raised $2.7 million for the Prime Minister's Christchurch Earthquake Relief Fund.
To ensure all telethon donations went towards rebuilding Christchurch, Fonterra contributed $500,000 towards the television production costs. In addition, Fonterra has so far announced a total contribution of $5.6 million for Christchurch earthquake relief efforts, along with $234,000 from our joint ventures, with a further $220,000 allocated for future initiatives for Christchurch.
Screened on Maori TV, the Rise Up Christchurch coverage included live crosses to Christchurch, Wellington, Sydney, Los Angeles and London, and included messages about Fonterra's efforts in Christchurch as well as messages of support from Fonterra teams across the world.
Click here for the first group of videos.
Click here for the second group of videos.
Click here for the third group of videos.
Fonterra Milk for Schools
New Zealand has the potential to be the dairy nutrition capital of the world, and this should start at home with Kiwi kids drinking milk. Fonterra wants children to grow up drinking milk because it is good for them.
As an important building block for good nutrition, milk offers a unique combination of nutrients which are essential for children's growth and development. As such, the New Zealand Dietary Guidelines recommend school children consume at least two to three servings every day of milk or dairy.
We plan to introduce the Fonterra Milk for Schools programme, similar to the Government programme which operated in primary schools between 1937 and 1967, because we want children to have access to dairy nutrition every day.
To test the Fonterra Milk for Schools programme, Fonterra will launch a regional pilot for primary schools in Northland, covering 110 schools and 14,000 children. The pilot will commence one month into the first term in 2012 and run until the end of the second term.
At that point, Fonterra will review the results and look at proceeding with a nationwide programme for the start of the new school year in 2013.
For more information please click here.
A partnership between Fonterra and Sanitarium, KickStart Breakfast encourages school children to achieve their best by getting a healthy start to the day. Based on a community partnership model, Sanitarium provides the Weet-Bix, Fonterra the Anchor milk and it is the school community that is responsible for delivering breakfast to the children.
KickStart Breakfast has provided over 1.5 million breakfasts to over 25,000 children in low socio-economic areas last year.
For more information visit www.kickstartbreakfast.co.nz
Fonterra Grass Roots Fund
Fonterra's community sponsorship programme, the Fonterra Grass Roots Fund, supports community groups with ideas, projects and initiatives. The Fund gives grants of between $500 and $5,000 towards initiatives in line with Fonterra's commitment to quality, safety and innovation.
In the last five years, the Fonterra Grass Roots Fund has supported over 792 initiatives across rural New Zealand.
For more information click here
Fonterra Science Roadshow
New Zealand's premier science and technology roadshow, The Fonterra Science Roadshow travels to over 700 New Zealand schools every year encouraging more than 45,000 children to explore science and technology through a range of interactive exhibits and resources. Science, technology and innovation are the foundations for the success of our industry and we are proud to be the Roadshow's major partner.
For more information visit www.roadshow.org
Catchment Care
Catchment Care is a partnership with not-for-profit organisation Conservation Volunteers New Zealand. Working with communities throughout New Zealand we increase vegetation cover alongside streams, improve water quality by intercepting nutrient and sediment flows, remove invasive species that may choke sub-catchments and reinvigorate wetlands. "We connect people keen to make a difference with local councils, community groups and environmental agencies to assist local communities protect and restore valuable waterways and wetlands".
For more information visit www.catchmentcare.co.nz
Australia
In Australia, we donate product to Foodbank Australia to distribute to welfare agencies. We have donated more than A$1 million worth of product since we began supporting Foodbank in 2005. We also donate product to Fareshare, which prepares healthy, nutritious meals for the hungry and homeless in Victoria. Our employees also support this initiative by working in the Fareshare kitchen helping prepare meals.
China
The Fonterra Rural Maternity and Infant Healthcare Community Program, a partnership with the Soong Ching Ling Foundation, has helped deliver better healthcare services to more than 50,000 women and children in China's Hebei province in its first year. As part of the programme, more than 7,000 healthcare workers have received training to improve their skills and 15 newly donated ambulances have ferried more than 1,600 patients. Now in its second year, the partnership has extended its reach to Gansu province, an another disadvantaged rural area in China.
Fonterra Brands Lanka
Fonterra Brand Lanka is committed to working with and enriching the lives of the Sri Lankan community. We do this by investing in the local dairy industry, educating families on the benefits of good nutrition and making a difference to the social fabric of the region in which we operate. This includes creating a healthier and safer learning environment by construction of a 750 square foot building to house extracurricular activities; a refurbishment of the schools' main hall; renovation of the ablution blocks and entrance to the school; and the construction of a secure boundary fence and a new drinking water pipe delivering a secure water supply for the 2400 children. For more information on our operations in Sri Lanka click here.
Asia
In Asia, we have partnered with ChildFund, an international child development organisation with over 70 years and having experience of supporting prenatal education and child wellbeing programmes in the region.
Together, we have developed a programme that focuses on improving child-focused services for children ages zero to five in selected communities in Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
