Mark Allen, Chief Executive

As the UK’s leading dairy company, processing and selling fresh milk dairy products, we have a duty to ensure Dairy Crest is a safe, healthy place to work and that we look after the communities where we are based as well as the wider environment.

Over the last year the work we have done in developing our corporate vision and values has underlined our commitment to doing the right thing. Today, corporate responsibility is an integral part of our business strategy.

As we continue to face an uncertain economic environment we can be certain that issues such as climate change are here for the long term. The consumer desire to know more about where food comes from, how nutritional it is and whether or not its packaging is made from a sustainable source, will also stay on the agenda. In order to achieve our long-term growth ambition, we will have to address issues such as these.

We recognise that no business can work in isolation and that for us to fulfil our objectives we need to work alongside, and build strong relationships with, our suppliers, customers, consumers and other stakeholders. Examples of working together can be seen with our biomass boiler project in Davidstow where we are working closely with the South West Regional Development Agency. Our JUGIT milkbags have been well supported by major retailers and we continue to work with WRAP, The Carbon Trust, the Energy Saving Trust and others in the dairy sector via Dairy UK.

From a very personal point of view I am also delighted to be a trustee of the newly launched Prince’s Rural Action Programme which will provide vital assistance to Britain’s rural areas and the people who live within them.

We are not perfect. We have a lot more to do. But as this report shows we know where we want to go and we are moving in the right direction.

Mark