As the first top 10 branded food and healthcare manufacturer in the UK & Ireland to certify as a B Corp, we are focused on combining business success with social and environmental progress. Our commitment to using business as a force for good is also integral to Danone’s global ambition to obtain worldwide B Corp certification by the end of 2025.
Globally, Danone continues to be a leading company with the adoption of the “Enterprise à Mission” business model, which means we anchor our ‘One Planet, One Health’ vision, along with our social, environmental and health objectives in our Articles of Association.
In the UK & Ireland, health - first and foremost – is our purpose, uniting us and guiding our decision making. We aim to support people’s health through better nutrition from early life through to old age, in a sustainable way. We do this through developing and offering tasty and healthy food and drinks, advocating for food policy to improve public health and tackling diet-related illnesses, reducing our emissions across our supply chain and improving the recyclability of our products.
Certifying as a B Corp involves a rigorous assessment of a company’s governance and impact on its workers, customers, community, and environment. It indicates that a company is meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. Our B Corp certification echoes our commitment to being a force for good within our communities, ensuring we deliver a positive impact for people and the planet.
Once again, this year’s publication reports on the combined gender pay gap for our entire UK business. We have chosen to go beyond the Gender Pay Gap regulations, which require reports for organisations with more than 250 people. Our Alpro business features for the fifth time, reinforcing our commitment to fairness and equity across our full UK operation and tracking progress across all our locations.
Since our last report
Danone is a leading health-focused food and beverage company dedicated to bringing health through food to as many people as possible, employing more than 1,100 people in the UK.
Danone’s portfolio of market-leading food and drink products supports the health of millions of consumers and patients worldwide throughout all stages of their lives. Danone’s health-focused food and beverage portfolio includes a mix of yogurts, beverages and plant-based food and drinks, with our best-known global brands including Actimel, Activia, Alpro and evian.
Backed by scientific research and expertise, Danone is also the market leader in early-life nutrition, owning the top two brands – Aptamil and Cow & Gate, supporting over one million parents to feed their children. Danone is also a market leader in medical nutrition products and services through our Nutricia brand.
Danone aims to inspire healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking practices, and in the UK and Ireland, millions of people eat or drink one of Danone’s products every day.
Globally, Danone holds itself to the highest standards in doing business, as reflected by its ambition to become one of the first multinationals certified as B Corp and its 2030 Goals aligned to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Danone is a leading health-focused food and beverage company dedicated to bringing health through food to as many people as possible, employing more than 1,100 people in the UK.
Danone’s portfolio of market-leading food and drink products supports the health of millions of consumers and patients worldwide throughout all stages of their lives. Danone’s health-focused food and beverage portfolio includes a mix of yogurts, beverages and plant-based food and drinks, with our best-known global brands including Actimel, Activia, Alpro and evian.
Backed by scientific research and expertise, Danone is also the market leader in early-life nutrition, owning the top two brands – Aptamil and Cow & Gate, supporting over one million parents to feed their children. Danone is also a market leader in medical nutrition products and services through our Nutricia brand.
Danone aims to inspire healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking practices, and in the UK and Ireland, millions of people eat or drink one of Danone’s products every day.
Globally, Danone holds itself to the highest standards in doing business, as reflected by its ambition to become one of the first multinationals certified as B Corp and its 2030 Goals aligned to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In 2017 the Government introduced regulations that require organisations with 250 or more employees to report annually on their gender pay gap.
This measures the difference in mean and median average pay between men and women across the organisation regardless of their role.
It does not measure equal pay which relates to what women and men are paid for the same or similar jobs or work of equal value.
Our overall mean gender pay gap has decreased from -4.87% in 2023
to -2.99% in 2024.
There is a significant difference in gender representation in roles at the lower end of our grading structure. Nursing and Customer Care roles are predominantly filled by women, where as manufacturing and operations roles – where pay is enhanced by shift premiums - are predominantly filled by men. The distribution of men and women in specific functions.
The proportion of women
in our Director level roles remained at 42%
Men and women are quite evenly represented across all of our UK businesses
At the lower end of our grading structure, there is a relatively even split of male to female employees.
Manufacturing and Warehousing roles attract more men. This is evident in Kettering and Liverpool where men make up 78% of the workforces. These types of roles attract shift premiums which impact the pay gap at this level.
Nursing and Customer Service roles attract more women
In 2024 our bonus pay gap has
increased to -3.03%.
The bonus gap is – like the pay gap – linked to the distribution of men and women across the business. Bonus entitlement across our male and female populations has remained consistent year-on-year in terms of the proportions of both groups receiving a pay-out.
Danone’s global commitment to equity and fairness is a core element of our HR processes. Gender distribution and pay levels across all grades are key considerations in our pay strategy. Our transparent pay policy rewards people predominantly on sustainable performance and the ability to grow, ensuring we pay in a fair and impartial manner across the business.
Not all male employee are eligible for bonus within our manufacturing and operation roles and hence the proportion of men versus women earning a bonus is significantly different.
We calculate our bonuses pro rata for those joining part-way through the performance year. In 2024, 96% of new joiners receiving pro rata bonus payments were women.
As a reminder, minus figures shows that the average bonus gap for women is higher than the average bonus gap for men.
In 2024 our bonus pay gap has
decreased to -2.99%.
The bonus gap is – like the pay gap – linked to the distribution of men and women across the business. Bonus entitlement across our male and female populations has remained consistent year-on-year in terms of the proportions of both groups receiving a pay-out.
Danone’s global commitment to equity and fairness is a core element of our HR processes. Gender distribution and pay levels across all grades are key considerations in our pay strategy. Our transparent pay policy rewards people predominantly on sustainable performance and the ability to grow, ensuring we pay in a fair and impartial manner across the business.
Not all male employee are eligible for bonus within our manufacturing and operation roles and hence the proportion of men versus women earning a bonus is significantly different.
We calculate our bonuses pro rata for those joining part-way through the performance year. In 2024, 78% of new joiners receiving pro rata bonus payments were women.
As a reminder, minus figures shows that the average bonus gap for women is higher than the average bonus gap for men.
The impact of inclusion and diversity is systemic, influencing all aspects of the organisation and contributing to a more supportive and dynamic workplace environment.
As all workers may face discrimination, harassment and unconscious bias, companies need to proactively ensure fair promotions, equitable pay, and equal leadership opportunities. Additionally, lack of inclusion and breaches in human rights such as discrimination and harassment could lead to the deterioration of working conditions and have an impact on workers’ personal wellbeing and physical integrity.
At Danone, promoting inclusion for all consists in cultivating an inclusive work culture by recognising, respecting, and leveraging differences to empower employees to be their best selves, enhancing both wellbeing and performance.
The information below is the statistical
data that we are required to publish on our gender pay gap.
This comprises the mean and median gender pay gap, the mean and median bonus gap, the proportion of men and women receiving a bonus payment and the proportion of men and women in each pay quartile.
Nutricia Ltd is the legal name for our business post the restructure and has circa 893 employees in office-based and field-based roles.
Danone Holdings is the Legal name for our business with circa 134 employees in our Finance & HR Shared Services business as well as our IT & Data Teams.
SHS International Ltd is one of our manufacturing sites, which employs circa 390 employees, the majority in production and warehouse roles.
Alpro is the name of our plant-based food and drinks company with a manufacturing site and a small commercial team, employing about 244 employees across both.
The information below is the statistical data that we are required to publish on our gender pay gap.
This comprises the mean and median gender pay gap, the mean and median bonus gap, the proportion of men and women receiving a bonus payment and the proportion of men and women in each pay quartile.
Nutricia Ltd is the legal name for our business post the restructure and has circa 893 employees in office-based and field-based roles.
Danone Holdings is the Legal name for our business with circa 134 employees in our Finance & HR Shared Services business as well as our IT & Data Teams.
SHS International Ltd is one of our manufacturing sites, which employs circa 390 employees, the majority in production and warehouse roles.
Alpro is the name of our plant-based food and drinks company with a manufacturing site and a small commercial team, employing about 244 employees across both.
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