Kraft Foods Inc.

Kraft Foods is a packaged food company formerly owned by tobacco giant Philip Morris/Altria. In 2006, they purchased about $8.2 billion worth of commodities. The company is one of the world’s largest purchasers of several agricultural commodities, including such varied products as coffee, cocoa and select nuts.

People

• Rob Rees - Chairs the independent steering committee for health4schools, a community project funded by Kraft Foods.

Board of Directors

• Irene B. Rosenfeld Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kraft Foods Inc.
• Ajay Banga Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Global Consumer Group, Citigroup, Inc.
• Jan Bennink President and Chief Executive Officer, Royal Numico N.V.
• Louis C. Camilleri Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Altria Group, Inc.
• Mark Ketchum President and Chief Executive Officer, Newell Rubbermaid Inc.
• Dr. Richard A. Lerner President, The Scripps Research Institute
• John C. Pope Chairman, PFI Group, LLC
• Mary L. Schapiro Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, FINRA
• Deborah C. Wright Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Carver Bancorp, Inc.

Employees

2006 Total Number of Kraft Employees by Region:

• North America 46,812
• Asia Pacific 5,140
• Latin America 15,703
• European Union 16,039
• Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMA) 6,334

Finances

Since Kraft became independent from Altria in March 2006 it has become a magnet for big-name investors who like undervalued stocks. Irene Rosenfeld had developed a three year recovery plan for the company. By 2009, she promises Kraft will be able to hit 7% to 9% annual growth in earnings per share and sales from the company's existing brands 4% annually. At the present time (Oct 2007) Rosenfeld forecasts revenues will increase at least 4% in 2007, to $35.7 billion, excluding the effects of the company's $7.2 billion purchase of part of Groupe Danone (GDNNY). That's higher than the company's 0.7% growth in 2006, but short of the company's targets and also short of the 5% increases the company delivered from 2002 to 2005.

Kraft will earn $2.85 billion in 2007, around $1.80 to $1.82 a share, leaving out one-time items. Add those in, and Kraft's net income drop to $2.45 billion, its poorest year since 2001.

Policy

Kraft claim that they are " are committed to responsible business conduct. We constantly strive to stay in touch with society’s changing expectations of us and determine where we can help make a meaningful difference to society." :

To this end Kraft have several policy initiatives in various areas such as sustainable farming, nutrition and wellbeing and quality and food safety.

Nutrition and wellbeing

Under the policy area of nutrition and wellbeing Kraft claim they are investing in tackling childhood obesity worldide. Kraft UK & Ireland, are "helping children to find out about healthy lifestyles and create their ideal playgrounds through health4schools". This programme claims to take a holistic approach to "nurturing life-long healthy lifestyle habits in children, by encouraging them to grow their own food, plan and cook healthy meals, appreciate the benefits of breakfast and engage in active play". Each school that participates in ther programme receives a package of support and resources worth €7000, including a grant to pay for improvements to the playground. The programme is currently underway in 75 Gloucestershire schools and will Kraft are aiming to extend the programme to at least 100 schools in the future. The programme has been developed in partnership with the Local Education Authority and Business in the Community. At the same time they have remained robust in defence of their policies on portion size, fat and sugar levels in certain products, labelling and advertising to children above 6.

Child labour

Kraft buy massive quantities of coffee and cocoa and have a statement on child labour which they claim is based on International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions and national laws. They state their comitment to "restrict employment to those age 15 or older, or the local minimum employment age, or the mandatory school age, whichever is higher."

They go on to state that they " communicate this policy to our direct suppliers, licensees and joint ventures, and we include a clear contractual obligation to meet these requirements as an ongoing condition of our business relationship. " This however, is then followed by the following comment " Global supply chains for raw materials, including some agricultural products of relevance to our business, can be lengthy and quite complex, reducing our potential influence and adding further hurdles to the challenge of understanding and effectively addressing issues that may exist." This appears to give Kraft a "get out" clause whereby any breaches of their code would have occured due to the complexities on the business and would be the fault of local producers not Kraft.

What is also troubling is what appears to be missing from the Kraft statement. There does not appear to be any commitment to a regime of inspection in the issue of child labour, or any commitment to pay for such a regime. And at no point does the statement indicate what would happen to any producers or supplier who broke the Karft code on child labour.

Affiliations

• American Council for Fitness and Nutrition Executive Board Member
• British Nutrition Foundation Member
• International Food Information Council Donor
• European Food Information Council Member

PR/Lobbying Agencies/People

• Bivings Group
• Edelman
• Society of European Affairs Professionals
• Lexis Public Relations Ltd
• Noguchi Communications
• Interbrand
• EUK Consulting Ltd

Corporate lobby groups

• Food and Drink Federation

• American Benefits Council. Kraft is listed as a member in 2008.

Community and Social Responsibility initiatives

• Kraft Cares
• health4schools

Other services

• Brambles
• Kraft Foods Inc was a donor to the Science Media Centre from October 2004 to May 2009 according to the SMC.