The B Team is delighted to announce that Danone, the France-headquartered food and beverage multinational, is endorsing The B Team’s Responsible Tax Principles. Danone joins a small, but fast-growing, pioneering group of businesses in using the Responsible Tax Principles as a blueprint to evolve its own tax policies and practices while advocating for a fairer, more sustainable global tax system.

Danone embarked on this journey on the right foot—with a tax policy grounded in transparency, responsiveness to its stakeholders’ needs and collaboration with tax authorities. The company’s internal tax code of conduct, implemented across all geographies, also ensures Danone’s tax practices align with this policy. In bringing this policy to life, Danone has also begun reporting on its yearly tax contribution on a worldwide basis.

Danone’s endorsement signals the importance of responsible tax as a crucial part of the foundation for a responsible business model. Currently, approximately 50% of Danone’s consolidated sales are now covered by B Corp^TM certification and Danone is working toward full B Corp certification by 2025—a commitment that holds the company accountable to all stakeholders.

Guided by that mindset, Danone’s move to endorse the Principles also reflects the growing need for companies to respond to shifting expectations from policymakers, NGOs, media and more. Tax transparency is quickly becoming the expectation for business, rather than the exception it once was.

"The bar on responsible corporate tax practice is being raised at a pace never before seen. As a company committed to doing our part to build a fairer, more sustainable society, we are aspiring to respond to these shifting expectations," Juergen Esser, CFO at Danone, said, "Adopting The B Team Responsible Tax Principles is an important step in our commitment to meeting and setting a new and ambitious standard on corporate tax. We look forward to working with The B Team and others toward full implementation of the Principles over time."

Danone’s commitment places it as the newest member of The B Team Responsible Tax Working Group, a forum for companies to share best practices and learnings and engage with a range of stakeholders including civil society and investors on their responsible tax journey.

The B Team encourages others to follow the leadership example set by Danone by endorsing the Responsible Tax Principles. To learn more about The B Team, the Principles and how you can join this movement, see here or email ResponsibleTax@bteam.org.

About The B Team Responsible Tax Principles

Developed by multinational businesses with input from civil society, investors and representatives from international institutions, The B Team Responsible Tax Principles were launched at the Tax & SDG Conference at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in February 2018. The B Team Responsible Tax Principles represent a new blueprint, designed to raise the bar on how businesses approach tax. They are the first consolidated effort from a group of cross-sector, cross-regional companies to articulate best practice in seven key areas of tax, from corporate governance to relationships with authorities to transparency.