Governance

Corporate responsibility and sustainability help us define the way we manage our business activities, and guide us in our everyday decisions. Driven by responsibility is how we feel and how we aim to behave.

We manage our corporate responsibility efforts within a leadership matrix structure of global and local   managers and trustees who define and execute strategy, create work plans, and communicate with employees. At the basis of our management approach is open communication with our employees. We try to maintain the highest degree of internal transparency possible, so that employees can understand issues, see ongoing results and engage with stakeholders in an open and constructive way.

• Corporate Responsibility Officer, Michael Avner, is Strauss Group’s Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary and a member of our executive management team. Mike provides periodic updates to the Board of Directors on CSR performance and issues.
• Corporate Responsibility Manager, Daniela Prusky-Sion, is responsible for implementing CSR Strategy and work plans across our global business divisions.
• Corporate Social Council: This forum was created in 2011 and is comprised of a group of senior executives representing corporate and Strauss Israel leadership, in order to provide direction and support for more intensive stakeholder engagement at different levels. The Council has reviewed the nature of our engagement and dialog processes with different groups of stakeholders and defined clear responsibilities and action plans to ensure opportunities for dialog are realized. The Council meets regularly and reviews our progress in this area, and senior executives have taken personal responsibility to advance Corporate Responsibility and stakeholder engagement processes.
• Corporate Responsibility Trustees Forum:  A Corporate Responsibility Trustee in each business unit helps manage CR activities locally. Thirty-five trustees received training and lectures on CSR related issues, and are the contact point for CSR activities and ethical queries. The forum provides a framework for cooperation and knowledge-sharing between trustees, and meets annually.
• Community Leaders act as contact points and coordinators between local community partners and our different business units. Guided by the CSR Manager, and the work plan created for their business unit, Community Leaders work with community partners to identify local needs, execute activities, maintain relationships and engage employees in volunteering activities. The Community Leaders Forum in Israel meets annually to review progress and share ideas.

In 2012, we were pleased that our Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability efforts were recognized by Forbes, who pronounced Strauss as the most socially-responsible company in the Israeli food industry.

Strauss Israel CR Trustees Annual Meeting 2012

In January 2013, the CR Trustees Annual Meeting in Strauss Israel was held to review 2012 performance and discuss 2013 objectives and plans.  Over 20 trustees participated in discussions which included a review of their role as Trustees and ideas about how they can become even more engaged and proactive within their respective operating divisions. While the Corporate Responsibility Trustees confirmed that they recognize our leadership and proactive approach to Corporate Responsibility within the Group, they also expressed their desire to become more involved in strategy development at an early stage and increase the weight given to Corporate Responsibility objectives in performance management processes. The Trustees also felt that more work was needed to ensure suppliers are fully on-board with Corporate Responsibility principles and practices.