Dinant launches community grievance mechanism

24 March, 2015

Community Engagement Programs to be Rolled Out Across Honduras Tegucigalpa, Honduras, March 24, 2015: Corporación Dinant has formally launched its Community Grievance Mechanism, providing members of local communities with simple, safe and reliable ways of communicating with the company. Roger Pineda, spokesman for Dinant, said, “Dinant is proud of its Honduran heritage. We have operated here for 55 years and care deeply about the welfare of our employees, suppliers, customers, and surrounding neighborhoods. But, like all organizations, Dinant doesn’t always get everything right. We want to recognize, take responsibility for, and fix our mistakes – professionally and openly – and learn from them. That means listening to local communities, answering their questions, and thinking hard about improvements we can make.” Anyone can access the Community Grievance Mechanism on Dinant’s website, via a free dedicated telephone hotline, and by meeting face-to-face with Dinant’s professional social workers based within local communities. “People impacted by our operations can talk to us, either personally or anonymously, in ways that are convenient to them. We shall listen to everyone and do our best to provide constructive solutions,” Mr. Pineda said. Under the guidance of the IFC and experienced social sector consultants, Dinant has undertaken extensive social-environmental risk assessments and mitigation measures to understand and resolve any issue affecting local people. The Grievance Mechanism – which is already operating in Comayagua and will soon be launched in Leán, San Pedro Sula and the Aguán – is the culmination of many months’ hard work. Mr. Pineda continued, “Dinant is investing significantly in enhancing its security procedures, environmental practices and community programs. We are confident that Dinant is now leading the way in Honduras and the Central America region in how we secure our facilities, protect the environment, and engage peacefully and openly with local people.” The Grievance Mechanism is published in English: http://www.dinant.com/index.php/en/grievances and in Spanish: http://www.dinant.com/index.php/es/formulario. The free telephone hotline is (+504) 800 2265 3303. About Corporación Dinant Dinant is a family-owned consumer products manufacturer founded in Honduras in 1960 by Miguel Facusse Barjum. Its products are sold throughout Central America and the Dominican Republic, and exported to global markets. Dinant employs 8,000 people, directly supports over 22,000 livelihoods, generates many millions of US dollars in exports for the Honduran economy, and contributes significantly to all the communities and countries in which it operates. As part of its adherence to the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, Dinant has removed all firearms from security men and women at its plantations, extraction mills and manufacturing plants. Dinant rigorously benchmarks its operations against the principles of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) regarding the economic, environmental and social impact of its African Palm oil business. All 14 Dinant facilities in Honduras have been awarded ISO 14000 and OHSAS 18001 status as a mark of their progress in environmental management and occupational health & safety. CORPORATE RELATIONS DEPARTMENT Roger Pineda, roger.pineda@dinant.com, +(504) 2239-8800

Dinant launches community grievance mechanism

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