Kraft Foods Inc.

Kraft Foods is a packaged food company formerly owned by tobacco giant Philip Morris/Altria^[1]. 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

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:^[2]

• 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

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." :^[3]

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.^[4] At the same time they have remained robust in defence of their policies on portion size, fat and sugar levels in certain products, lebaelling and advertising to children above 6.

Child labour

Kraft buy massive qiantities of cofee and cocoa and have a statement on child labour which they claim is based o 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 thern 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." What appeasr to be missing from the Kraft statements is any commitment to a regime of inspection. Any commitment to pay for such a regime of what would happen to any producers or supplier who broke the Karft code on child labour. What is in the code could be a matter for local interpretation as to what the "local minimum employment age" might be. ^[5]

Affiliations

• American Council for Fitness and Nutrition^[6] Executive Board Member
• British Nutrition Foundation^[7] Member
• International Food Information Council Donor^[8]
• European Food Information Council^[9] Member

PR/Lobbying Agencies/People

• Bivings Group ^[10]
• Edelman ^[11]
• Society of European Affairs Professionals ^[12]
• Lexis Public Relations Ltd ^[13]
• Noguchi Communications^[14]
• Interbrand ^[15]

Corporate lobby groups

• Food and Drink Federation^[16]

Community and Social Responsibility initiatives

• Kraft Cares^[17]
• health4schools

Other services

• Brambles^[18]

References

1. ^Altria Group Inc 2007 Altria Group, Inc. Completes Spin-off of Kraft Foods Inc.
2. ^http://kraft.com/responsibility/people.aspx
3. ^http://kraft.com/responsibility/home.aspx
4. ^ http://kraft.com/responsibility/nhw_communitybased.aspx
5. ^[19] http://kraft.com/responsibility/people_policy.aspx
6. ^American Council for Fitness and Nutrition Members
7. ^British Nutrition Foundation 2007 BNF Member Companies
8. ^Kraft Foods Inc Community-based Health and Wellness Programs
9. ^European Food Information Council About EUFIC
10. ^The Bivings Group 2007 Client List
11. ^PR Watch, Third Quarter 2003, Volume 10, No. 3 Cancer PR Firms Still Addicted to Tobacco Paul Goldberg
12. ^Society of European Affairs Professionals 2007 Members of SEAP
13. ^Corporate Watch GLENEAGLES: Lexis PR and corporate sponsorships
14. ^Porter Novelli Porter Novelli Announces New Hungarian Partner Noguchi Communications Joins Agency Network
15. ^Interbrand 2007 In A Biskit: Stops the Munchies
16. ^Food and Drink Federation 2007 Full Members
17. ^Kraft 2007 Kraft Cares: Focusing Our Giving to Make a Difference
18. ^Brambles 2007 Chep Overview