Danone

The role of the administrative, management and supervisory bodies

Reference: page 178. Section 4.2.2.1.

Danone is a Board of Directors model société anonyme. Sustainability is embedded in a defined governance structure: the Board of Directors reviews "sustainability matters, including strategy, commitments, main targets, and policies," with action plans and progress "regularly on the Board of Directors' agenda." The CSR Committee reviews "sustainability strategy, commitments, policies, action plans and progress, sustainability reporting, sustainability ratings and rankings, and stakeholders' expectations." The Audit Committee monitors "(a) the sustainability reporting process, including the double materiality assessment process, (b) the performance of the certification of the sustainability information by the sustainability auditors." The Governance, Nomination & Compensation Committee proposes compensation for corporate officers "including the financial and sustainability performance criteria."

At management level, the Executive Committee sets sustainability strategy under the Chief Sustainability and Strategic Business Development Officer, with Danone Impact Journey pillars (Health through Food, People & Communities, Nature) assigned to named C-suite owners, and a Sustainability Due Diligence Committee and Risk Committee covering vigilance and strategic risk respectively (page 179).

Information provided to and sustainability matters addressed by the governance bodies

Reference: page 178.

Danone's Board committees receive structured sustainability reporting through their standing mandates: the CSR Committee is "responsible for the review of sustainability strategy, commitments, policies, action plans and progress, sustainability reporting, sustainability ratings and rankings, and stakeholders' expectations on sustainability topics," while the Audit Committee monitors "the sustainability reporting process, including the double materiality assessment process" and "the performance of the certification of the sustainability information by the sustainability auditors."

The double materiality assessment cycle illustrates this flow: the 2025 update to the materiality assessment "was approved by the Global Impact Committee... in September 2025, and presented to the Audit Committee in February 2026" (page 184). The Board's Governance, Nomination & Compensation Committee separately receives proposals on sustainability-linked compensation criteria for corporate officers (page 179).

Integration of sustainability-related performance in incentive schemes

Reference: page 265; page 287.

Danone's Long-Term Incentive Plan, granted to executives, senior managers and selected key employees, "incorporates social and environmental performance criteria, such as improvements in environmental impact" (page 265). The Board's Governance, Nomination & Compensation Committee makes proposals "with regards to the compensation for corporate officers, including the financial and sustainability performance criteria for the variable compensation" (page 179).

A concrete example: sugar reduction is embedded in executive compensation frameworks – "in 2023, the long term compensation of the Chief Executive Officer, the members of the Executive Committee, General Managers, and other senior executives and senior managers of Danone was specifically linked to" the kids' sugar-content KPI and its 2025 achievement (page 288). Full detail on the compensation structure is cross-referenced to section 5.3/5.4 Corporate Governance, outside the sustainability statement.

Statement on due diligence

Reference: page 180; page 301 (Vigilance Plan legal framework).

Danone's due diligence approach is anchored in two places. Section 4.2.3 states the sustainability statement's material impacts, risks and opportunities "regarding Danone, and how these relate to Danone's activities, are presented in the sections on each ESRS" (page 180).

The Vigilance Plan (section 4.7) fulfils "the requirements of Article L.225-102-1 of the French Commercial Code... on the duty of vigilance of parent companies and main contractors," setting out "the reasonable actions implemented within the Group to identify risks and prevent severe adverse impacts on human rights and fundamental freedoms, the health and safety of people, and the environment" across Danone, its controlled entities, and its Suppliers and Subcontractors (page 301). The Sustainability Due Diligence Committee, co-chaired by the Chief Sustainability Officer and the SVP General Counsel, meets quarterly to set the Vigilance Plan roadmap and reviews the Group's risk mapping (page 301).

Risk management and internal controls over sustainability reporting

Reference: page 180.

Danone applies shared data collection guidelines for social, safety, environmental, and health and nutrition data, communicated and updated annually "following data consolidation and feedback from contributors," specifying "methodologies for reporting the indicators, including definitions, methodology principles, calculation formulas, and standard factors."

For the wider risk and control environment, the sustainability statement cross-refers to "section 1.6 Risk factors and section 1.7 Control Environment respectively, in section 1 Overview of activities, risk factors" for "risk management and internal control for the full Group, including for sustainability reporting" (page 180). The Audit Committee separately monitors "the performance of the certification of the sustainability information by the sustainability auditors" (page 178), and the statutory auditor's assurance report (section 4.6) provides the external check on this control system.

Strategy, business model and value chain

Reference: page 180.

Danone "operates in growing, healthy and on-trend categories of the food and beverage sector, across the Essential Dairy & Plant-Based (EDP), Waters and Specialized Nutrition categories." The Group "relies mainly on science, and on agricultural inputs" (detailed in the E5 resource-use section) and "serves different types of consumers and patients" (detailed in the S4 section).

In 2025 Danone "operated in five geographical zones: Europe; North America; Latin America; China, North Asia and Oceania; and Asia, Middle East & Africa," and had 88,670 employees (down from 89,528 in 2024), with the breakdown by geography presented in the S1 own-workforce section. The statement notes that "the material impacts, risks and opportunities regarding Danone, and how these relate to Danone's activities, are presented in the sections on each ESRS" – i.e. distributed through the topical E1–G1 chapters rather than consolidated here.

Interests and views of stakeholders

Reference: pages 181-184.

Danone frames stakeholder governance around its Dual Project, engaging "globally, regionally, and locally to understand their expectations and how Danone's decisions and operations impact the communities and environment." A 2024 Stakeholder Engagement Policy sets out key stakeholder groups and how feedback is gathered and considered in decision-making.

The statement maps engagement channels and example initiatives across nine stakeholder groups (pages 181-184): industry bodies (WBCSD, Water Resilience Coalition); civil society/NGOs (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, Earthworm Foundation, Fair Labor Association); academia (WWF Biodiversity Risk Filter research, Ramsar Convention); affected communities (Citizen Factories project, Fair Circularity Initiative); public authorities (EU Pledge, COP30); employees (Danone Ethics Line, DPS); farmers and agricultural partners (Cost Performance Model contracts, Danone Milk Academy); suppliers/subcontractors (RESPECT program, RTDD Foundation); and consumers/patients and the financial community (local contact centres, investor roadshows). DMA insights are "presented to the Audit Committee, with a plan to regularly review the results."

Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model

Reference: pages 184-190 (section 4.2.5.2).

Danone's double materiality assessment produced a single cross-topic table of impacts, risks and opportunities (pages 185-189), spanning climate (GHG emissions, physical and transition climate risks), pollution, water use, biodiversity (species loss, ecosystem changes, deforestation), resource use (virgin packaging, food loss and waste), own workforce and value-chain worker impacts (forced labour, discrimination, working hours, wages, collective bargaining, health and safety), affected communities (land rights), consumers (food safety, nutritional quality, marketing) and business conduct (whistleblower protection, data privacy, lobbying, animal welfare). Each row is tagged as negative impact, positive impact, risk or opportunity, and located across the upstream/own-operations/downstream value chain.

The 2024 DMA update ran "from May 2023 to February 2024" with external stakeholder consultation "from March to July 2024," approved by the Global Engagement Committee in December 2024; a 2025 refresh "to align with market practices" was approved by the Global Impact Committee in September 2025 and presented to the Audit Committee in February 2026 (page 184).

Description of the processes to identify and assess material impacts, risks and opportunities

Reference: pages 184-185.

Sustainability matters were identified from ESRS topics/sub-topics, Danone's historic material topics, peer practice and industry standards, then translated into gross impacts, risks and opportunities using existing risk mapping (the Group's strategic risk mapping, the Vigilance Plan), CDP questionnaire responses and existing studies.

Impact materiality was scored gross (before mitigation) by internal experts on scale, scope, irreversibility and probability, with severity taking precedence over probability for potential negative human-rights impacts. Financial materiality used current financial effect, long-term financial effect and likelihood, assessed first by thematic experts then reviewed by the Sustainable Finance, Strategy and Consolidation & Reporting teams. Results were consolidated and a qualitative materiality threshold applied based on stakeholder importance and continuity with the Group's strategy and prior assessments. Validation ran through the Danone Impact Journey leaders, the Global Engagement/Impact Committee, the Audit Committee and the Board before publication.

Disclosure requirements in ESRS covered by the undertaking's sustainability statement

Reference: pages 199-203 (section 4.2.6.4, Correspondence of disclosure requirements).

Danone's content index maps every ESRS 2, E1-E5, S1-S4 and G1 disclosure requirement to the section of the Universal Registration Document where it is addressed. A small number of datapoints are marked directly in the index as not reported: E1-9 (anticipated financial effects from climate risks/opportunities) and E2-6, E3-5, E4-6, E5-6 (anticipated financial effects for pollution, water, biodiversity and resource use respectively) are each marked "Not reported (phased in)"; E2-5 (substances of concern/very high concern) and G1-2, G1-6 (supplier relationship management, payment practices) are marked "Not reported (not material)." No explicit statement is made elsewhere about omitted intellectual-property or negotiation-sensitive information.

A companion table (4.2.6.5, pages 203-211) cross-references individual ESRS datapoints to SFDR, the Benchmark Regulation, Pillar 3 and the EU Climate Law, flagging each as material, non-material or not-applicable/phased-in.

Transition plan for climate change mitigation

Reference: page 215; pages 216-217.

Danone's Climate Transition Plan, published in December 2023, sets out the pathway to its 2030 science-based GHG targets and Net-Zero by 2050, structured around eight programs: direct operations, milk, other ingredients, packaging, logistics, co-manufacturing, supplier engagement and low-carbon by design. The 2030 trajectory chart shows a planned reduction from a 23.3 Mt CO2e 2020 baseline to 14.3 Mt CO2e (SBTi target), with an estimated 7.0 Mt CO2e of reduction still to come between end-2025 and end-2030.

Danone "is not excluded from the EU Paris-Aligned Benchmarks" and has "not been found or estimated to significantly harm" the EU Taxonomy environmental objectives (page 216). The plan is embedded in financial planning: "Danone's annual operating plan and strategic planning exercises systematically incorporate the Group's climate transition goals, ensuring that all decarbonization investments are fully integrated within OpEx and CapEx," rather than tracked as a separate climate budget. Locked-in emissions were assessed as not prejudicial to the plan, since Danone's assets are not "especially long-lived, carbon-intensive."

Identification of climate-related risks and scenario analysis

Back-filled from the E1 climate-risk methodology described under ESRS 2 IRO-1 (section 4.3.1.1, pages 212-214). This disclosure requirement did not exist under the 2023 ESRS the report was prepared against.

For physical risk, Danone used two IPCC AR6 scenarios – SSP2-4.5 (intermediate, broadly Paris-aligned) and SSP5-8.5 (high-emissions) – across agricultural commodities and sites, assessed via hazard/exposure/vulnerability over three time horizons: historical (1985-2014), 2030 (2015-2044) and 2050 (2035-2064).

For transition risk and opportunity, Danone quantified financial impacts under three WBCSD scenarios developed for the agriculture, forestry and land-use sector: a <2°C Forecast Policy Scenario, a >3°C Historic Trends Scenario, and a 1.5°C Societal Transformation Scenario, over 2027/2030/2050 horizons from a 2023 starting point. Key assumptions covered policy (carbon prices), technology (agricultural input efficiency) and market (diet shifts). Scope covered own operations, agricultural commodities and the value chain; the assessment was reviewed and updated from September 2024 to February 2025.

Resilience in relation to climate change

Back-filled from the E1 adaptation-strategy content (section 4.3.1.2, pages 222-224). This disclosure requirement did not exist under the 2023 ESRS the report was prepared against.

Danone does not describe a distinct, ESRS-defined climate resilience analysis. It instead discloses adaptive-capacity measures under two headings. Adapting the sourcing: securing supply chains "taking into consideration climate risks in sourcing decisions (diversifying areas of sourcing...)," supporting farmer partners' resilience through regenerative agriculture, and running local climate-risk studies in key milk-sourcing countries since 2023. Adapting Danone's sites: joint Operations/Insurance monitoring of natural-catastrophe risk, with investments in flood-risk mitigation (barriers, floodgates, elevation of equipment) and wind-resistance measures, alongside the 4R water strategy and business continuity planning (minimum inventory levels, dual sourcing).

The Climate Transition Plan is also described as considering "resilience actions – preventive maintenance and flood prevention" alongside its eight decarbonization programs (page 216). No quantified resilience metric or scenario-based stress test specific to E1 is disclosed.

Policies related to climate change mitigation and adaptation

Reference: page 216.

Danone's climate policies are mapped against each material climate impact/risk. The Climate Transition Plan covers GHG emissions and all named transition risks. The Water Policy addresses physical risks linked to milk and agricultural ingredients by "enhancing water efficiency at production sites and protecting water resources and biodiversity across its supply chain." The Sustainable Sourcing Policy mitigates climate-related impacts by "reducing greenhouse gas emissions, preserving and restoring water resources, promoting packaging circularity, and ensuring no deforestation or land conversion." The Danone Sustainability Principles set expectations on measuring and minimizing direct and indirect GHG emissions across activities. The Regenerative Agriculture Program targets milk and other agricultural ingredients through herd, manure and water management and soil-health practices. The Forest Policy and Packaging Policy each mitigate GHG emissions from deforestation/conversion and from packaging respectively.

Actions and resources in relation to climate change policies

Reference: pages 217-223.

Danone reports 2025 actions under its eight-program Climate Transition Plan. Direct operations (~5% of the 2020 baseline): the Re-Fuel program raised renewable electricity to 94.2% (85.7% in 2024) via digital energy-management systems, PPAs and on-site solar. Milk (~36%): the Cool Farm Tool/CAP'2ER now cover 91.0% of direct milk collection across 20 countries, and the Danone Milk Academy launched in October 2025 with Cornell and Wageningen University partners. Dairy ingredients and raw materials (~28% combined): 75.0% of dairy-ingredient suppliers (by volume) had committed to or set science-based targets, and 94.0% of sourced palm oil was RSPO-certified segregated. Packaging (~14%): recycled plastic content rose to 18.6%. Logistics (~8%): Eco-Transit rollout and a Logistics Control Tower in Europe, Brazil and North America. Co-manufacturing (~7%): 20% of spend covered by the Sustainable Sourcing Policy.

A shadow carbon price of €100/t CO2e applies to all CapEx plans (page 221), and Danone continues Livelihoods Funds investment beyond its own value chain.

Targets related to climate change mitigation and adaptation

Reference: page 224.

Danone's near-term (2030, 2020 baseline) and long-term (2050) targets are validated by the Science Based Targets initiative in line with 1.5°C: Scope 1&2 energy and industry emissions -46.3% by 2030 (progress: -40.2% in 2025), Scope 1&3 FLAG -30.3% by 2030 (progress: -21.7%), Scope 3 energy and industry -42.0% by 2030 (progress: -17.0%), giving a combined -34.8% by 2030 at constant mix (progress: -21.0% in 2025, up from -16.1% in 2024). Long-term 2050 targets are Net-Zero energy and industry -90.0% and Net-Zero FLAG -72.0%. A separate voluntary target cuts methane from fresh milk by 30% by 2030 (progress: -29.8% in 2025).

SBTi's FLAG guidance includes both emissions and removals, but "as of December 31 2025, Danone does not report any removals as part of its corporate emissions reporting."

Energy consumption and mix

Reference: page 227; methodology page 228-229.

In 2025, 25 countries (up from 23) reached 100% electricity from renewable sources, and 110 factories reached 100% renewable electricity (+4 vs 2024). 92.8% of purchased electricity was covered by renewable energy attribute certificates. Energy intensity rose 4.3% to 147.4 kWh per metric ton of product, which the report attributes to "current product mix and in-sourcing of new processes and technologies." Scope covers production sites and owned distribution centers; 151 sites (>99% of production) reported.

Gross Scopes 1, 2, 3 and Total GHG emissions

Reference: page 225; page 226 (intensity).

Gross Scope 3 categories fell across the board, led by purchased goods and services (13,991,418 t CO2e in 2025, -5.8%). Market-based GHG intensity per net revenue fell 5.7% to 682.1 t CO2e/€m. Emissions are calculated per the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, using IEA/ADEME/BEIS factors for Scopes 1-2 and Ecoinvent plus sector federations for Scope 3, complemented by the Cool Farm Tool for dairy-farmer emissions. Scope 3 upstream/downstream data cover ~99% of production and sales volumes respectively.

GHG removals and GHG mitigation projects financed through carbon credits

Reference: page 226; page 229.

Danone reports no GHG removals in its corporate emissions accounting: "as of December 31 2025, Danone does not report any removals as part of its corporate emissions reporting," pending the final version of the GHG Protocol's Land Sector and Removals Guidance, which "is still in its draft stage."

On carbon credits, in 2025 "some Danone factories continued to purchase carbon credits as part of their carbon neutral certification," disclosed by crediting-program standard (VCS, Plan Vivo) and project type: 94.7% from reduction projects, 5.3% from removal projects (restated 2024 comparative: 100% reduction). The report is explicit that this activity "does not account as a reduction towards the Group's reduction targets" – i.e. it sits outside, not inside, the SBTi trajectory.

Internal carbon pricing

Reference: page 221.

Danone applies a shadow carbon price for CapEx "to drive decarbonization investments and assess the resilience of new projects." In 2025 the shadow price was €100/t CO2e, "reflecting general expectations that carbon prices will continue to rise." The price is derived by combining EU-ETS forecasting through 2027 with NGFS scenario carbon-price projections to 2032.

"All CapEx plans must include a carbon impact assessment covering the related GHG emissions, regardless of the amount, to factor shadow carbon prices into the return on investment." Separately, each CapEx exceeding €5 million is subject to "an environmental impact assessment and has its climate cost evaluated based on the shadow carbon price," approved by the Vice President of Operational Finance and the Vice President of Industrial Excellence (page 217).

Policies related to pollution

Reference: page 231.

Four policies address Danone's material pollution impacts. The Clean Water Standards (CWS) prevent and limit water pollution from own operations, setting compliance KPIs on nine indicators (COD, BOD, TSS, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, oil & grease, conductivity, pH, temperature) that "either align with or go beyond local regulations, including the U.S. Clean Water Act and the European Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive." The Regenerative Agriculture Program provides guidance on manure management, pesticide/herbicide use and soil health to reduce agricultural pollution. The Climate Transition Plan addresses air pollution from logistics through energy efficiency, multimodal/collaborative logistics and biofuel/electric-vehicle adoption. The Packaging Policy mitigates water and soil pollution from plastic packaging "through both prevention and control."

Actions and resources related to pollution

Reference: page 232.

The GREEN program commissions external and internal audits to identify and monitor "the main environmental risks related to atmospheric emissions and discharges into water and soil," including noise pollution, at production sites; it includes projects targeting Total Phosphorous (product substitution, cleaning-agent trials, dedicated on-site treatment as a last resort). A named 2025 example: the Clean In Place optimization project at Poços de Caldas Dairy in Brazil installed 85 sensors across >1,000 sequences, cutting industrial food waste 21%, COD rejected 45% and sludge generated 38% versus 2024.

The Clean Water Standards are monitored monthly against discharge limits. Pollution from logistics and packaging is managed through the E1 climate and E5 resource-use programs respectively, cross-referenced rather than duplicated here.

Targets related to pollution

Reference: page 233.

Danone's headline pollution target is compliance with the Clean Water Standards: "Progress is tracked annually with an objective to reach 95% compliance with the CWS by 2030," against 86.7% compliance in 2025 (up from 82.3% in 2024).

Complementary, cross-referenced targets cover the same material impacts: the regenerative-agriculture KPI (farms transitioning, addressing manure and fertilizer/pesticide over-application) reached 42.0% in 2025 against a 2025 target of 30.0% (page 233); and a voluntary logistics target aims to "reduce CO2 equivalent emissions from logistics by 0.8 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent compared to the 2020 baseline," which "also addresses air pollution and GHG emissions" (page 234). No standalone numeric target is disclosed for packaging-related pollution beyond the E5 circularity targets.

Pollution of air, water and soil

Reference: page 232-233.

Net COD fell 39.9% year on year, "related to a global increase in wastewater treatments on all its sites, such as in the Akbou production site in Algeria." Under the EPRTR Regulation, Danone's 2025 analysis across 151 factories found "all European factories are fully compliant," with the COD parameter above the European threshold at only three non-EU sites (0.6 kt total), not subject to E-PRTR.

Policies related to water and marine resources

Reference: page 235.

Three policies cover Danone's material water-use impact. The Water Policy "defines Danone's standards and commitments around an integrated, multi-stakeholder approach to sustainable water management," providing "a foundation for the Group to preserve and restore watersheds where it operates and drive water footprint reduction across its value chain, while enhancing access to safe drinking water." The Regenerative Agriculture Program outlines "water quantity management, such as irrigation source, type and management" for farmer transition to responsible water use. The Sustainable Sourcing Policy requires suppliers "to preserve and restore water resources," particularly where water use is material or exposed to high-water stress. All three policies map to the same single material impact: water use.

Actions and resources related to water and marine resources

Reference: pages 235-237.

Danone's 4R strategy (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Reclaim) covered 99.3% of production sites with an active plan in 2025. Examples: Belgium's Rotselaar and Wevelgem sites reclaimed ~1,000 thousand m3 of treated wastewater (similar to 2024); India's Lalru site halved production water usage over five years and recycled 20 thousand m3/year of fresh-milk condensate; Mexico's Bonafont provided 177 thousand m3 to nearby operations; 11 Group-wide reclaim systems reclaimed 2,187 thousand m3/year, with two more in design at Volvic and Ferrières.

Watershed protection: "more than 26 watershed preservation actions" since 2020, covering 71.9% of water intake in highly water-stressed areas (up from 62.5% in 2024), including new 2025 projects in Mexico, Indonesia and the US (Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust). An annual Water Risk Assessment across 69 agricultural ingredients prioritised 13 key ingredients for regenerative-agriculture action by 2030.

Targets related to water and marine resources

Reference: page 238.

Two Danone Impact Journey targets: 4R deployment at production sites – "100% by 2030" against 99.3% in 2025 (49.3% 2020 baseline); and watershed preservation/restoration plans in highly water-stressed areas – "100% by 2030" against 71.9% in 2025 (20.0% 2020 baseline).

Complementary internal 2030 goals: implement watershed plans at "71 production sites considered to be in highly water stressed area" (59.2% achieved in 2025, up from 46.7%); halve the water ratio (m3/ton of product) versus 2015, or reach best-in-class levels, for sites facing high physical water risk (48.6% achieved, down from 55.9% in 2024 "due to new sites entering scope"); and ensure 50% of ingredient volumes from water-risk areas are produced under improved water management by 2030 (37.0% estimated in 2025).

Water consumption

Reference: pages 238-239.

Total water drawn fell 0.2% year on year; of this, 44.5% went into finished products or by-products and 55.5% was used in industrial processes. Water withdrawal intensity was 2,191 m3/€m revenue (up 0.1% from 2,188) and the water ratio was 1.06 m3/ton produced (up from 1.00). All 151 production sites reported, using an operational-control approach; sources are river, municipal and well water, excluding once-through cooling and rainwater.

Transition plan and consideration of biodiversity and ecosystems in strategy

Reference: page 241.

Following its 2024 biodiversity double materiality assessment, Danone published a Global Biodiversity Strategy in January 2025, publicly available on its website, setting out "the Group's vision and commitments to biodiversity, detailing actions aimed at preserving and restoring ecosystems." The strategy addresses five key challenges: soil health, water stewardship, land use, climate change, and ecosystem intactness, with an execution section outlining supporting actions.

The strategy sits alongside, rather than replaces, existing programs that address biodiversity impacts: the Climate Transition Plan (water/thermal stress, extreme weather), the Regenerative Agriculture Program (habitat preservation, soil health), the Water Policy (watershed biodiversity) and the Forest Policy (deforestation and land conversion, targeting verified deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains by 2025 with a December-2020 cut-off date).

Policies related to biodiversity and ecosystems

Reference: page 241.

Four policies map to Danone's material biodiversity impacts and risks. The Climate Transition Plan addresses GHG-driven ecosystem change. The Regenerative Agriculture Program covers pollution from agricultural activities, water use and species loss through "pesticide and weed management, natural habitats, and feed self-sufficiency" and "optimizing soil health for livestock feed and crops, through low/no till-farming and cover crops." The Water Policy's biodiversity pillar follows "a landscape approach to sustainably manage and restore ecosystems." The Forest Policy targets deforestation and land-use change, aiming for traceable, verified deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains "by 2025, with a cut-off date of December 31, 2020" and support for landscape restoration projects "by 2030."

Actions and resources related to biodiversity and ecosystems

Reference: pages 242-244.

Danone states no biodiversity offsets were used in its biodiversity action plans. Actions by material impact: agriculture – Partner for Growth signed 19 new strategic agreements and 8 joint business plans in 2025; water ecosystems – APIEME's bee-based biodiversity monitoring across 4,000 hectares identified 179 plant species; forest ecosystems – Consumer Goods Forum Forest Positive Coalition membership, bi-annual (since 2024) traceability verification via 3Keel, and satellite monitoring of sourcing areas not otherwise verified.

On deforestation specifically: as of 2025's traceability mill-mapping, 100% of palm oil volumes traced to mill level and 98% to plantation level (page 253). Sites near biodiversity-sensitive areas, identified via the WWF Biodiversity Risk Filter, are subject to the same environmental standards (Clean Water Standards, GREEN audits) described under E2 and E3.

Targets related to biodiversity and ecosystems

Reference: pages 243-244.

Danone's standalone biodiversity target concerns regenerative agriculture: "volume of key ingredients Danone sources directly that comes from farms which have begun to transition to regenerative agriculture" – 2022 baseline 28.0%, target 30.0% by 2025, achieved 42.0% in 2025 (up from 39.0% in 2024).

Due to "significant overlap with other sustainability matters," the remaining biodiversity-relevant targets are cross-referenced rather than restated: GHG/climate targets (E1, avoidance/minimisation layer), pollution from agriculture targets (E2, minimisation/restoration layer), water consumption targets (E3, minimisation/restoration layer), and deforestation/land-use targets (E5, avoidance/restoration layer, informed by the EUDR and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework). The Group states it "has not applied ecological thresholds, nor used biodiversity offsets mechanisms" in setting these targets.

Impact metrics related to biodiversity and ecosystems change

Reference: page 243.

Danone's E4 metrics section is largely qualitative rather than a quantified biodiversity impact metric. Using the WWF Biodiversity Risk Filter, Danone "has identified certain sites located in or near areas biodiversity-sensitive," which "are subject to the highest environmental standards" described under Pollution (E2) and Water resources (E3) "to minimize its environmental impact and preserve the ecosystems in which it operates." No count of such sites, nor a quantified biodiversity-impact indicator (e.g. area under restoration, species-abundance metric), is disclosed in this section.

The report cross-references the regenerative-agriculture coverage KPI (42.0% of key ingredient volumes in 2025) as the primary quantified proxy for biodiversity-positive practice adoption, alongside the deforestation-related metrics reported under E5 (verified deforestation- and conversion-free sourcing rates).

Policies related to resource use and circular economy

Reference: page 245.

Five policies address Danone's material E5 impacts. The Forest Policy targets deforestation/land-use change. The Sustainable Sourcing Policy covers packaging materials, mandating "reducing packaging, such as integrating circularity within material selection and design processes." The Packaging Policy sets "the Group's roadmap to transition from a linear to a circular economy for packaging," including reducing virgin resource use, sustainable sourcing of renewable materials, and end-of-life management, "by leading the development of effective collection systems to recover as much plastic as Danone uses, by 2040." The Position on Food Loss and Waste sets priorities (best-before labelling transition, food donation, halving factory food waste). The Battle Against Waste Toolkit and Food waste reporting guidelines operationalise the food-waste policy.

Actions and resources related to resource use and circular economy

Reference: pages 246-249.

Deforestation: the Siak Pelalawan Landscape Programme (Indonesia, since 2019) and the North Sumatra Landscape Project (with L3F, Mars, L'Oréal) support deforestation-free, traceable palm supply chains; Danone sits on the Consumer Goods Forum Forest Positive Coalition steering committee.

Packaging: 45.0% of Waters volumes are sold in reusable containers (Bonafont, AQUA, Sirma), plus >15 reuse pilots; 42.0% recycled PET used in the Waters category; Danone committed $15M to the Ocean Fund I, $15M to the LAC Fund, and a further $20M to Circulate Capital Asia Fund II in 2025, with combined portfolios preventing 252,199 tonnes of plastic leakage in 2025 and improving ~8,600 recycling-sector workers' livelihoods since inception.

Food waste: the AI-based O9 inventory platform is rolling out in the US and Europe; the "Look-Smell-Taste" label now covers 496 SKUs in the EU; a Global FoodBanking Network partnership redistributes surplus food across 11 countries.

Targets related to resource use and circular economy

Reference: pages 249-250.

2025 food-waste performance was weaker than 2024 (-18.1%), "primarily driven by one-off events that resulted in increased waste generation," compounded by increased diversion to anaerobic digestion, which helps renewable-energy production but counts against the waste-reduction KPI.

Resource inflows

Reference: pages 250-252.

Danone's principal raw materials are milk, soy, almonds, oats, cereals, fruits and vegetables, plus packaging materials (plastics, paper/board), energy and water. By share of overall inflow weight: milk 67.2%, packaging without plastics 11.4%, plastics packaging 11.0%, paper/board 8.4%, soybeans 1.0%, palm oil 0.9%, cocoa 0.1%.

Certified-inflow shares in 2025: RSPO-certified palm oil 96.0% (99.2% in 2024), ProTerra segregated soybean 80.5%, certified virgin paper 96.4%, certified cocoa (Rainforest Alliance) 83.2%, regenerative-agriculture-scorecard-covered ingredients 41.8%. Recycled content: 68.5% of purchased paper, 37.3% of total packaging (of which 18.6% of plastic packaging, up from 16.8%). Traceability to mill level for palm oil reached 100% (98% to plantation) via a bi-annual process supported by the Earthworm Foundation.

Resource outflows

Reference: page 252.

Danone's E5-5 outflow disclosure is brief and cross-referential. Product packaging materials (plastics, paperboard) are the outflow category discussed: "as Danone's packaging data is collected and calculated based on purchased volumes, Danone's packaging inflows and outflows are considered as equal" – i.e. the resource-inflow packaging figures reported under E5-4 (11.0% plastics, 11.4% non-plastic packaging by weight, 37.3% recycled content) double as the outflow measure, rather than a separately measured outflow figure.

Danone directs readers to the Resource inflows section (4.3.5.4) for the underlying methodology and figures. Waste generated as a distinct outflow stream is reported separately under the Waste metrics (E5-5-Waste, section 4.3.5.4), covering industrial and packaging waste rather than products placed on the market.

Waste

Reference: pages 252-253.

Waste streams covered are industrial, packaging-industrial and food waste (plastic, paper-based, glass, metal, wood); hazardous and non-production-related waste (16% of the total in 2025, down from 28% in 2024) are tracked but excluded from these consolidated figures, as are products donated or used for human consumption (e.g. lactose, whey cheese). All 151 production sites reported.

Policies related to own workforce

Reference: page 262.

Seven policies map to Danone's material own-workforce impacts. The Danone Sustainability Principles and Human Rights Policy underpin forced-labour and broad human-rights protections. The Global Inclusion and Diversity Policy and Global Anti-harassment and Discrimination Policy address discrimination/harassment, mandating decisions "made without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, age, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and veteran status." The Global on-site External Workforce Policy targets labour-agency workers specifically, "prohibiting the payment of recruitment fees by workers." The Global Health, Safety and Well-being Policy covers workplace accident risk and wellbeing; the Global Parental Policy covers working-hours/adequate-rest impacts through flexible schedules, job protection and paid/unpaid leave.

Processes for engaging with own workforce and workers' representatives about impacts

Reference: pages 260-261.

The annual Danone People Survey (DPS), running "more than two decades," measures engagement, well-being, inclusion and (through voluntary self-identification) vulnerable-situation indicators. Since 1988, Danone has partnered with the IUF (International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations) on nine Global Agreements covering information provision, equality, skills training, trade union rights, restructuring, social indicators, diversity, health/safety/stress, and sustainable employment (1989-2016).

Since 1996, the Consultation and Information Committee (CIC) – Danone's European Works Council – has provided structured social dialogue, expanded since 2009 into an annual international meeting where union representatives engage directly with the CEO and CHRO on strategy, transformation and labour relations, reinforced by IUF Global Engagement Meetings.

Processes to remediate negative impacts and channels for own workforce to raise concerns

Reference: page 267; page 190 (Danone Ethics Line).

Own-workforce members can report concerns through the Danone Ethics Line (DEL), available in 56 languages, 24/7, by phone or online, covering breaches of the Code of Business Conduct or other policies, illegal behaviour or environmental/human-rights risks. Reports are reviewed by the Global Compliance Integrity team and/or Global HR Compliance and Labor Law team; whistleblowers receive acknowledgment within seven days and a closing summary.

In 2025, Danone developed Human Rights Remediation Guidelines to give country teams "practical guidance on how to address human rights cases identified either through audits and self-assessments or via" the DEL, clarifying responsibility types, remedial measures, and a structured follow-up and effectiveness-measurement process.

Taking action on material impacts on own workforce, and effectiveness of those actions

Reference: pages 263-267.

Danone completed a six-step Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) rollout across the Group by end-2025, including external workers, and committed its top-10 priority countries to third-party audits: 184 audits completed by end-2025, with 90.0% of 2024-audit findings closed within the agreed timeline. On inclusion, Danone monitors the gender pay gap before and after each Annual Salary Review. On health and safety, the WISE² program audits ~50% of production, logistics and sales sites annually for safety culture and compliance. On learning, Campus X (used by ~20,000 employees monthly) and a five-programme Leadership Path (2,800+ leaders trained since 2024) support development. A living-wage assessment with an external provider ensures no employee falls below local living-wage benchmarks, evidenced by Danone's Fair Wage Network certification for a second consecutive year.

Targets related to own workforce

Reference: pages 267-268.

The 96.9% human-rights training completion "gap [was] driven by practical issues leading to some training sessions being postponed." All Danone Impact Journey KPI targets towards 2030 are stated to evolve as part of "Phase 2" of the programme.

Characteristics of the undertaking's employees

Reference: pages 258-259.

Danone had 88,670 employees at 31 December 2025 (down from 89,528 in 2024): 59,338 men, 29,332 women. By region: Europe 31.1%, Latin America 25.6%, South East Asia/Africa/Middle East 22.0%, China/North Asia/Oceania 11.3%, North America 6.7%, CIS/Turkey/Iran/Ukraine 3.4%. Mexico (15,267), Indonesia (9,977) and France (9,175) each represent over 10% of headcount.

By contract: 85,229 permanent employees (84,795 in 2025 -- 27,860 women / 56,935 men) and 4,299 temporary (3,875 in 2025). Age profile: 34.4% aged 30-39, 30.8% aged 40-49, 16.3% aged 20-29. 13,492 hires and 6,289 dismissals in 2025 gave a 17.0% turnover rate (down from 18.0% in 2024).

Characteristics of non-employee workers

Reference: page 271.

Danone does not disclose a headcount for its non-employee ("external") workforce. It defines the population qualitatively: "third-party employees are individuals who do not have a direct work contract with Danone but are under its management, work on a temporary or non-temporary basis, and for whom Danone is able to collect data on working time" (methodology note to the health-and-safety metrics). Workplace-accident indicators are stated to "also cover accidents affecting permanent, temporary and third party employees (including interns)."

The report notes a data limitation: "subsidiaries are responsible for collecting the data on working hours for temporary employees and workers employed through staffing agencies," and completeness "is limited by the control of this data by Danone, the fluctuating nature of this population of workers and disparities between different agencies." No aggregate external-workforce total is given elsewhere in the statement.

Collective bargaining coverage and social dialogue

Reference: page 270.

69.0% of Danone employees globally were covered by collective bargaining agreements in both 2024 and 2025. In France, 9,175 employees were covered by more than one collective bargaining agreement in 2025 (9,109 in 2024).

Effectiveness is assessed through regular joint country visits with the IUF: 88 site visits took place between 2009 and 2025, eight of them in 2025, in the United States, UK, Ireland, Germany and Turkey. In 2024 Danone launched a Social Dialogue e-learning module; 73.0% of the targeted population had completed it by 2025. A new Unions Engagement Mastery Program, starting in Europe, equips plant directors and HR teams with advanced collective-bargaining negotiation skills.

Diversity metrics

Reference: page 268.

Gender breakdown by management level, 2025 (2024 in brackets): Board of Directors 44.0% women (44.0%); Executive Committee 23.0% (25.0%); managers, directors and executives excluding Executive Committee 54.0% (54.0%), of which directors and executives 44.0% (45.5%) and managers 55.0% (54.0%); non-manager employees 26.0% (26.0%); total employees 33.0% women (33.0%).

Age-band distribution across the workforce is reported under S1-6 (page 259): 0.4% under 20, 16.3% aged 20-29, 34.4% aged 30-39, 30.8% aged 40-49, 15.6% aged 50-59, 2.6% over 60. No disability-status headcount is disclosed alongside these gender/age metrics; disability inclusion is addressed qualitatively under S1-12.

Adequate wages

Reference: page 269.

100% of Danone employees were in line with or above the living wage in both 2024 and 2025, "following the Fair Wage Network methodology." Danone works with an external provider on "a comprehensive assessment covering various factors influencing wages, such as local cost of living (including food, housing, healthcare, and other essential needs)," analysing "wage levels, wage structures, and local living standards, to identify any gaps and guide corrective actions if necessary."

In 2025, "Danone received the Fair Wage Network certification" for the second consecutive year, which the report describes as "guaranteeing that no Danone employee falls below a living wage." This corresponds to the stated Danone Impact Journey target of ensuring a living wage across all locations where Danone operates.

Social protection

Reference: pages 267 and 269-270.

Danone's social-protection mechanism is the Dan'Cares program, launched in 2009 "to protect all employees and ultimately guarantee health coverage, in particular for countries without government regulated healthcare systems." It covers three major risks – hospitalisation and surgery, ambulatory care, and maternity care – with well-being added to the scope in 2023.

In 2025, 97.8% of employees received health coverage "fully meeting the criteria defined by Dan'Cares" (97.9% in 2024), against a stated target of 100% by 2030. Danone "conducts comprehensive assessments to ensure that all countries adhere to the minimum standards established by Dan'Cares" and "facilitates access to supplementary insurance plans" where available.

Persons with disabilities

Reference: page 266.

Danone describes disability inclusion only qualitatively, with no disclosed headcount or percentage of employees with disabilities. It states it has "various initiatives, both at Group and local level, to foster an inclusive workplace for employees with disabilities," and that "the local approach makes it possible to better consider the context and specificities of each case and take practical actions."

Named mechanisms are "upskilling opportunities, awareness campaigns and targeted initiatives to advance physical and digital accessibility," through which Danone says it "strives to remove barriers and empower people with disabilities to unlock their full potential." No numeric metric or target specific to persons with disabilities is presented elsewhere in the S1 chapter.

Training and skills development metrics

Reference: page 270.

Danone's learning infrastructure includes the Campus X digital platform (~20,000 monthly users), the La Maison – Danone leadership center at evian (350+ employees trained since November 2024), a five-programme Leadership Path (2,800+ leaders trained since 2024), the Data, Digital and AI Academy (with dedicated 2025 pathways for AI users, business leaders and builders), and functional academies such as the Operations Academy's Industry Academy.

Health and safety metrics

Reference: page 269.

Indicators cover permanent, temporary and third-party employees (including interns) under Danone's management. In 2024 Danone updated its health-and-safety reporting protocol "to encourage non-mandatory reporting on cases of work-related ill health," though such cases "are currently excluded from statutory reporting figures." Safety is assessed via annual site/task/route risk assessments and WISE² audits covering roughly half of production, logistics and sales sites each year.

Work-life balance metrics

Reference: page 269.

Danone's disclosed work-life-balance metric is policy coverage rather than leave-uptake rates: the Global Parental Policy – supporting employees "through all stages of parenthood by providing adapted working conditions, flexible schedules, and health and nutrition advice, notably by ensuring job protection, paid and unpaid leave, and support for breastfeeding" – had been implemented in 58 countries in both 2024 and 2025.

Complementing this, the S1 actions section (page 266) describes flexible working-schedule options (part-time, remote, hybrid work) developed following a 2021 "Future of Work" employee consultation, and the Be Well by Dan'Cares well-being program (physical, mental-health and nutrition support, including an annual Be Well Month and Mental Health Week). No quantified parental-leave return or retention rate is disclosed.

Compensation metrics (pay gap and total compensation)

Reference: page 269.

Danone reports two different gender pay-gap figures. Under the CSRD methodology (new for 2025, "not available" in 2024), the gap was -8.0%, meaning "average total compensation is 8.0% higher for women employees than men employees," a difference the report attributes to "the prevalence of men in manufacturing roles with lower compensation than women." Under Danone's own internal methodology (100 − (average female compensation ratio / average male compensation ratio) × 100), the gap was 1.1% in both 2024 and 2025, against a Danone Impact Journey target of closing it to +/-3% by 2025.

On the CEO pay ratio, Danone reports the France-registered-entity ratio in section 5.3 Corporate Governance but states it is "waiting for clarification of the methodology to extend the scope" globally, "due to the lack of methodology to calculate a ratio... adjusted to the purchasing power differences between countries."

Incidents, complaints and severe human rights impacts

Reference: page 269.

Danone states that "through litigation reporting" it collects data on material fines, penalties and compensation from concerned countries, and "no material fines have been reported to the Group through this channel in relation to incidents, complaints or severe human rights incidents related to its own workforce." Substantiated Danone Ethics Line complaints nearly doubled year on year.

Policies related to value chain workers

Reference: page 274.

Three policies map to all ten material value-chain-worker impacts (child labour, forced labour, discrimination, working hours, adequate wage, collective bargaining, health/safety, and the three reputational/regulatory/production-disruption risks). The Human Rights Policy "reaffirms the Group's commitment to respecting and strengthening human rights throughout its value chain, including for its suppliers." The Danone Sustainability Principles for Business Partners formally extend the DSP to non-Tier-1 business partners; direct-supplier contracts (including farmers) must contain binding terms enforcing the DSP and passing equivalent principles further upstream. The Sustainable Sourcing Policy, developed in 2024, adds ten social principles, including that "wages must be paid directly to workers, on time and in full," covering all Tier 1 suppliers except those under the DSP.

Processes for engaging with value chain workers about impacts

Reference: pages 272-273.

Danone's 2021 salient human-rights impact assessment involved interviews with expert civil-society organisations (IUF, Earthworm Foundation, Fair Labor Association, Proforest) and drew on IUF, ILO, UNICEF, ITUC and OHCHR sources. Category-specific engagement channels: for farmers and plantation suppliers, a "longstanding and close relationship," informing support for regenerative-agriculture transition and longer-term contracts; for service providers/truck drivers, a partnership with the Road Transport Due Diligence (RTDD) Foundation, set up by the Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging, International Transport Workers' Federation and IUF, "to gain better insights into truck drivers' working conditions in Europe"; and for broader public-interest projects, consultation of "local experts, NGOs, universities, companies, cooperatives" to capture worker and community views.

Processes to remediate negative impacts and channels for value chain workers to raise concerns

Reference: pages 277-278.

Value-chain workers can report via the Danone Ethics Line, a dedicated palm-oil grievance mechanism (in place since 2019 with Earthworm Foundation support, also used for other commodities), supplier-level grievance mechanisms (required of all suppliers), and non-conformities surfaced through RESPECT program SMETA audits.

In 2025 Danone "registered 20 new concerns raised linked to deforestation, human rights violations, or both" (14 palm oil, 6 other commodities); 14 were closed as unrelated to Danone's supply chain and 6 were under investigation, with 9 concerns under active monitoring at year end, raised by organisations including Earthworm Foundation, Chain Reaction Research, Global Witness and Friends of the Earth. High-risk non-conformities (most often in palm oil) can result in supplier suspension pending demonstrated progress.

Taking action on material impacts on value chain workers, and effectiveness of those actions

Reference: pages 275-277; page 279.

The RESPECT program covers Tier 1 non-farmer suppliers via four pillars: ESG risk screening, self-assessment (Sedex/EcoVadis), on-site SMETA audits, and monitored corrective action. In 2025, 85.6% of in-scope expenditure was covered (up from 70.8%), 299 sites completed an audit (up from 92), and 83.9% of critical non-conformities were closed within the auditor's deadline (up from 80.9%); of the 587 critical non-conformities identified, 51.8% concerned health and safety and 31.0% working hours/compensation.

For farmers, long-term Cost Performance Model contracts covered 30.0% of milk collected globally (24.0% in 2024) and the Danone Milk Academy launched in October 2025. For waste pickers, inclusive-recycling cooperative projects run in Argentina, France and Indonesia, and Danone joined the Fair Circularity Initiative in 2025.

Targets related to value chain workers

Reference: page 277.

Danone's Danone Impact Journey target for value-chain workers is Sustainable Sourcing Policy deployment: "percentage of suppliers (Tier 1, excluding farmers) to which the Sustainable Sourcing Policy has been deployed (measured in percentage of spend)" – target 100% by 2030, from a 2023 launch baseline, reaching 20.0% in 2025 (10.0% in 2024).

The report frames this as the "first step of its due diligence process," deploying "to its strategic suppliers" initially and continuing "based on a risk-based approach." As with other Danone Impact Journey KPIs, the target trajectory towards 2030 "will evolve as part of the Danone Impact Journey Phase 2."

Policies related to affected communities

Reference: pages 282.

Six policies address Danone's four material community impacts (water use, agricultural pollution, plastic-packaging pollution, land rights). The Water Policy's third strategic pillar is to "support communities surrounding Danone's production sites and provide water access to vulnerable populations." The Forest Policy and Sustainable Sourcing Policy both embed Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for land rights, the latter recommending periodic FPIC training and stating "zero-tolerance" for land-grabbing and threats against human-rights defenders. The Packaging Policy emphasises inclusive collection systems for waste-sector workers. The Human Rights Policy calls "special attention to respecting the land rights of communities and indigenous peoples." The DSP for Business Partners extends FPIC obligations to non-Tier-1 suppliers.

Processes for engaging with affected communities about impacts

Reference: page 279.

A 2021 global consultation engaged "more than 380 stakeholders, of which over 230 were external," including national authorities, academics, suppliers, customers, investors and NGO representatives acting as community proxies (SHIFT, Fair Labor Association, ProForest, IUF), to prioritise issues over short/medium/long term horizons.

Locally: Danone Mexico runs a site risk-calibration and community-engagement strategy since 2021, training 150+ employees and reaching 30,000+ people through rainwater harvesting, resilient agriculture and reforestation projects. The SPRING water-stewardship methodology, publicly launched at World Water Week 2025, is rolling out at ~60 sites. The Citizen Factories Program, started across ten priority sites in 2025, provides "stakeholder mapping, dialogue mechanisms, and co-created local projects."

Processes to remediate negative impacts and channels for affected communities to raise concerns

Reference: pages 282-283.

The Danone Ethics Line is "Danone's main channel that all stakeholders, including affected communities, can use to raise concerns." Local mechanisms supplement it: at Évian, a grievance mechanism registers community complaints for the management team; at Wexford, Ireland, factory-gate signage provides community liaison officer contact details; in Indonesia, some sites have a dedicated Stakeholder Engagement Manager collecting and addressing community grievances.

No aggregate figure for community complaints received or resolved is disclosed in this section; community-related grievances are instead "tracked at a local level and consolidated globally via the annual Danone Way survey" (page 283).

Taking action on material impacts on affected communities, and effectiveness of those actions

Reference: page 283.

Environmental impacts on communities (water use, agricultural and plastic-packaging pollution) are managed through the actions described under Water resources (E3), Pollution (E2) and Resource use and circular economy (E5), cross-referenced rather than repeated.

For social impacts from upstream sourcing (land rights), Danone applies certification schemes that "guarantee social and environmental standards" (Pro-Terra for soy, RSPO for palm oil, Rainforest Alliance for cocoa), OECD-aligned risk-based due diligence to "identify, prevent, mitigate and disclose risks or impacts to communities related to land issues," and extends the RESPECT program (described under S2) to assess Tier 1 suppliers' social performance, "to enhance the reliability of its value chain and protect communities around its operations."

Targets related to affected communities

Reference: page 283.

Danone discloses no standalone quantified target for affected communities, stating that "due to significant overlap with metrics related to other sustainability matters, several of the priority issues identified relating to affected communities are covered in other sections." Readers are pointed to: water stewardship targets (E3, section 4.3.3), pollution targets (E2, section 4.3.2), end-of-life/plastics targets (E2 and E5, sections 4.3.2 and 4.3.5), deforestation and land-rights targets (E5, section 4.3.5), and human-rights/grievance metrics (S1, section 4.4.1).

This is a deliberate cross-referencing choice rather than a gap: the underlying targets (e.g. 71.9% watershed-preservation coverage, 97.9% verified deforestation-free sourcing) are the ones tracked for community-facing impacts.

Policies related to consumers and end-users

Reference: pages 285-287.

Six policies address Danone's material consumer/patient impacts, risks and opportunities. The Quality and Food Safety Commitments (with a Food Safety Policy) cover food-safety and packaging health risks. The Danone Policy on Marketing to Children uses the Health Star Rating (HSR) as its Nutrient Profile Model, restricting marketing to under-16s where under-16 audience share exceeds 25%. Danone Nutritional Targets set science-based product-development standards. The Policy on the Nutritional Principles for the Use of Health & Nutrition Claims requires an HSR score ≥2.5 stars for any nutrition/health claim. The Communication Validation Management Policy governs marketing-content compliance. The Baby Formula Marketing Standards (updated from the 2018 Policy for the Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes) were "fully implemented worldwide" by end-2025.

Processes for engaging with consumers and end-users about impacts

Reference: pages 283-284.

Quality and Food Safety experts "work closely with scientific and regulatory bodies, academic institutions, governmental and intergovernmental organizations, and industry bodies" across the EU, US and China, feeding relevant needs into Danone's Quality Management System. Local Consumer Services teams provide direct, multi-channel (phone, email, social media, live chat) feedback routes, referenced on all product labels.

On health and nutrition specifically, the Health through Food pillar was built on a 360° review engaging consumers, patients and other stakeholders to set health/nutrition priorities. Ongoing monitoring uses the "World Insights on Nutrition Dashboard," an internal platform tracking local dietary needs and gaps, alongside engagement with health authorities and regulators on consumer information, cancer-care nutrition and product-safety standards.

Processes to remediate negative impacts and channels for consumers and end-users to raise concerns

Reference: page 283.

Danone's stated remediation channel for consumers and patients is its local Consumer Services network: "in each CBU, consumers and patients have direct access to local Consumer Services to provide feedback (inquiry, complaint, praise, suggestion)." All product labels carry contact information, and each Country Business Unit lets consumers choose their preferred channel ("phone, email, social media, live chat, messaging, etc."), adapted to local legal requirements.

No aggregate figure for consumer complaints received or remediation outcomes is disclosed in the sustainability statement; product-safety-specific incident handling is addressed through the FSSC 22000 certification and internal food-safety-audit metrics reported under S4-4/S4-5.

Taking action on material impacts on consumers and end-users, and effectiveness of those actions

Reference: pages 286-289.

Preventing food-safety issues: a fully integrated QFS function, reinforced standards, a "Danone Experts" program, and redefined third-party-manufacturing governance. Developing healthy products: HSR-based portfolio management with sugar-reduction roadmaps (embedded in executive compensation) and iron-fortification programmes targeting iron-deficiency anaemia. Affordability: the OBPPC (Occasion, Brand, Pack, Price, Channel) methodology positions the healthy portfolio for middle- and low-income populations. Specific nutritional needs: the medical-nutrition "Benefit Platforms Framework" defines eleven consumer/patient benefit platforms. Responsible marketing: interpretative nutritional labelling, EU Pledge founding membership, and Baby Formula Marketing Standards compliance monitored via external audits, with a published annual BMS compliance report and e-learning in 13 languages.

Targets related to consumers and end-users

Reference: pages 288-290.

Complementary indicators: 99.4% of TV advertising complied with EU Pledge criteria per Ebiquity audit (six countries); 81.0% of entities monitored Marketing-to-Children compliance; 6,517 employees trained on the Breast-Milk Substitutes policy; 3 projects supported women's choice to breastfeed.

Business conduct policies and corporate culture

Reference: pages 293-295.

Danone's business-conduct policy stack includes the Code of Business Conduct, Compliance Framework Policy, Integrity Policy, Disciplinary Code for Business Conduct Breach, Code of Conduct for Business Partners, Third Party Vetting Compliance Policy, Healthcare System Compliance Policy, Personal Data Privacy Policy, Advocacy Policy, Stakeholder Engagement Policy, Animal Welfare Position Paper and the Sustainable Sourcing Policy, mapped against the four material G1 impacts (whistleblower protection, data misuse, public-sector engagement, animal welfare).

Corporate culture is anchored in the DANgo internal control framework (Danone Governing and Operating Processes), covering Sales, Purchasing, Operations, HR, Finance, Information Systems and General Secretary processes, and a mandatory annual compliance fundamentals e-learning course, completed by 99.0% of targeted employees in 2025 (98.0% in 2024), extended to external Board members since 2024.

Prevention and detection of corruption and bribery

Reference: pages 295-296.

Danone's global Compliance Program includes "a specific section on anti-corruption," incorporating "risk assessments and their related mitigation plans, policies, procedures, controls, training courses, communication plans, and third-party due diligence." Concerns are identified via the DANgo internal control framework, the Danone Ethics Line, or direct escalation to the Compliance team.

Training: a mandatory annual compliance-fundamentals e-learning course (99.0% completion in 2025) plus targeted anti-corruption training for higher-risk functions (sales, finance, marketing, medical, public affairs, procurement, R&I). Third-party vetting: 36,422 new third parties were screened via a dedicated digital solution in 2025 (38,682 in 2024), with 94.1% approved, 1.2% approved with mitigation, 0.3% rejected and 4.4% still in process. Compliance controls (gifts/hospitality, healthcare-professional interactions, sponsorships, public tenders, third-party due diligence) are reviewed annually by internal control and periodically by internal audit.

Incidents of corruption or bribery

Reference: page 296.

Danone reports zero convictions or fines for violations of anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws in both 2024 and 2025. Broader compliance-relevant concerns received through Danone's channels, "including workplace people-related issues, corruption and fraud," totalled 1,356 in 2025 (up from 1,118 in 2024) – a figure that spans multiple categories of misconduct, not corruption alone, so it should not be read as a corruption-incident count.

Third-party vetting outcomes (page 295) provide indirect context: of 36,422 new third parties vetted in 2025, 94.1% were approved outright and 0.3% rejected, with the remainder approved subject to mitigation or still under review, reflecting the population screened for corruption and related risk rather than confirmed incidents.

Political influence and lobbying activities

Reference: pages 295-297.

Danone "does not engage in political contributions to political parties, elected representatives and political candidates seeking office, or associations or foundations owned or controlled by such," explicitly prohibiting "donations, loans, sponsorships, retainers or purchase of tickets/events" and in-kind contributions (advertising, facilities, printing, equipment). Compliance is monitored annually via the DICE (Danone Internal Control Evaluation) framework, with "high risk" donations subject to compliance review.

On lobbying transparency, 81.2% of countries where Danone operates kept "a detailed and up-to-date register of all engagements with government officials" in 2025 (75.0% in 2024), reported under EU Transparency Register, French HATVP and US lobbying-disclosure frameworks. 93.7% of entities engaged with policymakers or via trade associations/coalitions "to improve the country's social, health, or environmental standard" (87.0% in 2024).

Targets related to business conduct

Danone's sustainability statement was prepared under the 2023 ESRS, which had no standalone G1 targets disclosure requirement (business-conduct targets fell under MDR-T). This entry back-fills from the G1 chapter's targets and effectiveness-tracking content.

Reference: page 297 (animal welfare); page 295-296 (compliance training).

Danone discloses a numeric animal-welfare target: "fresh milk volumes worldwide assessed on the topic of animal welfare through the new animal welfare assessment tool or via Validus Animal Welfare certification" – 2018 baseline 43.0%, target 80% by 2020, with 84.0% achieved in 2025 (86.0% in 2024, 91.0% in 2023) – i.e. performance held above target after 2020.

Alongside this explicit target, Danone tracks effectiveness of business-conduct measures without a formal numeric target for several G1 impacts: the annual compliance e-learning completion rate (99.0% in 2025), the third-party-vetting approval rate (94.1%), and the government-engagement register coverage rate (81.2%), each monitored year over year as the mechanism for gauging progress in the absence of a stated target for those specific sub-topics.