Dole Food Company, Inc. announced that all its company-owned banana farms located in Costa Rica have been certified to the Social Accountability International SA 8000 work place and human rights standard. The company-owned El Bosque pineapple plantation also received its SA 8000 certification.
The certification covers the cultivation, harvesting and packing of bananas and pineapples for exportation to the United States and Europe.
SA 8000, an internationally recognized standard based on the ILO conventions, the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on Rights of the Child, focuses on child labor, forced labor, health and safety, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, discrimination, disciplinary practices, working hours, compensation and the implementation of an efficient management system.
In 2000, Dole’s then owned subsidiary, Pascual Hermanos, was the first agricultural company in the world certified to SA 8000. Subsequent to this certification, all Dole managed banana and pineapple plantations in the Philippines have been certified to the SA 8000 standard. In total, Dole has approximately 18,000 employees in its banana and pineapple operations covered by SA 8000 certifications, or approximately 73% of that workforce.
The Company is committed to expanding SA 8000 certifications in its Central and South America operations. In extending that commitment, Dole anticipates seeking certification of all the Company’s farms in Latin America to SA 8000 in 2005. Dole is a signatory member of Social Accountability International and serves on its advisory board.
This SAI certification is the most recent manifestation of Dole’s commitment to ensure that the Company’s operations, wherever located, protect both its work force and the environment. In July 1998, Dole’s banana operations in Costa Rica became the first agricultural producer in the world to receive certification to the environmental management standard, ISO 14001, an internationally recognized standard, which was developed by the International Organization for Standardization. Subsequent to that date, over 20 Dole divisions or affiliates in Central and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa have earned the ISO 14001 environmental management certification.
Dole Food Company, Inc., with 2004 revenues of $5.3 billion, is the world’s largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and fresh-cut flowers.
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