RABOBANK
GROUP'S CODE
OF CONDUCT
Global
RABOBANK OPENS TRAVELLING
MUSEUM IN BRAZIL
Food Safety
Roundtable
promotes quality
in global food chain
As ia
Americas
Rabobank Group's principle-based code
of conduct has been around for 10years,
although not many employees are aware of
its existence. That's set to change. Ineke Tacq,
who is responsible for the enrolement of
this code within Rabobank, wants to create
a dialogue among staff, so that employees
feel able to discuss questions that clients
may have on such topics like human rights,
environmental concerns, and so on.
"It's our goal to ensure that every part of the
organisation brings the code to employees'
attention. For the code's 10th anniversary we
will publish a booklet or a PDF highlighting
the code. In addition, Rabobank has an Ethics
Committee, which provides advice on more
concrete ethical dilemmas and CSR issues."
"If employees have questions they can talk to
their manager, other team members or the
secretary of the Ethics Committee for more
complex cases. The committee publishes its
rulings, so that staff confronted with similar
situations can check the advice given. The
most important point is that we try to create
an open and transparent culture to discuss
topics within the company that will, we
hope, lead to a better understanding of
ethical and CSR issues in the future. Flaving
a continous dialogue in our organisation,
especially about cases or issues in the grey
areas, helps Rabobank to develop its own
guidelines."
In May, Rabobank opened a travelling
museum in Varginha, Brazil, which
focuses on social and environmental
issues. Varginha hasa local Rural Bank
office and is one of the main regions
for coffee production in the country.
Featuring works by Brazilian and
international artists, including
contributions from two artists from
Varginha, the museum aims to make
society aware of socio-environmen-
talism through the arts.
The museum, which is open free of
charge to the public, will travel to a
number of other Rural Bank offices cities
throughout Brazil after Varginha. Expected
public to visit the museum in each city is
around four thousand, among them one
thousand students. "Many of the places that
the museum will visit have few if any
museums and limited access to culture,
which is why they have been chosen for the
project. The City Halls are partners and
provided the spaces," explains Daniela
Mariuzzo, Corporate Social Responsibility
manager at Rabobank Brazil. About 40 works
made by renowned - predominantly Brazil
ian - artists will be exhibited in the museum.
Rabobank Asia was the lead sponsor of
The Food Safety Roundtable held in China
in April.The Roundtable was well attended
by over 120 F&A participants and provided
a global platform to discuss food safety
along the whole food value chain, and also
how the private sector can play a role in
addressing food safety issues in the absence
of effective regulations.
The two-day programme consisted of panel
discussions and workshops on the issues
and opportunities presented by food safety
and the importance of traceability through
out the food chain which has become
longer, more complicated and cross-border.
Besides speaking at the Roundtable,
Rabobank also invited key clients like
COFCO, Beijing Deqingyuan, Dachan Food
Asia and Keystone Foods to attend, speak
and be panelists. The attendees benefitted
much from hearing the views of Rabobank's
clients. In turn, our clients were able to get
fïrst-hand information on trends and views
from other leading F&A players.
The Roundtable concluded with agro-
industry leaders agreeing on the need
for greater industry coordination at the
international level and supporting the
establishment of a Global Food Safety
Steering Committee, which will focus on
the creation of a Global Food Safety Forum.
The Roundtable was a breakthrough event
in terms of international attendance and
sector representation from around the world.
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ISSUE 20 THE WORD
