Danone Indonesia Promotes Cross-Sector Collaboration to Accelerate Sustainable Business Practices through the Asia B Corp Summit 2026

Photo: Special

JAKARTA - Danone Indonesia together with B Lab and B Market Builder (BMB) South East Asia held the Asia B Corp Summit 2026 Site Visit entitled "From Purpose to Impact: Advancing B Corp for Indonesia's Sustainable Future" with the theme "Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue: Driving Business as a Force for Good". This forum is a collaborative platform for the government, business actors, academics, and organizations to strengthen the role of the business world in creating sustainable economic growth while providing positive impacts for society and the environment.

This event was attended by representatives from the Ministry of PPN/Bappenas, the Ministry of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia, APINDO, academics, and global leaders from B Lab. Through cross-sector discussions, participants shared perspectives on the importance of building a business ecosystem that is not only oriented towards economic growth, but also pays attention to social aspects, the environment, and good corporate governance.

As a company that has obtained B Corp certification across all its business lines, Danone Indonesia believes that the business world has a strategic role in supporting sustainable development. The B Corp certification itself is an acknowledgment for companies that meet high standards in terms of governance, employee welfare, impact on society, environmental preservation, and value provided to customers.

In the keynote session, Pungkas Bahjuri Ali, Head of the National SDGs Secretariat and Deputy for Sustainable Development of the Ministry of PPN/Bappenas, emphasized that the business world has an important role in accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"The SDGs have become part of Indonesia's development direction through the RPJPN, RPJMN, Asta Cita, and the vision of Indonesia's Gold 2045. Its implementation is based on four main principles: universal, integrated, No One Left Behind, and strong collaboration. Most importantly, the achievement of one SDG goal should not hinder other goals, but must support each other so that the benefits of development can be felt comprehensively. The success of the SDGs is not only determined by how many initiatives we carry out, but by how strongly we change the way development works," he said, quoted Tuesday, June 30.

"The SDGs will be achieved if the government, business world, philanthropy, academia, civil society, and the media move together in one direction: creating economic value while strengthening quality of life, the environment, and governance. This forum is expected to strengthen our commitment to make business a force for good, B Corp as an inspiration for change, and SDGs as a common language to build an inclusive, sustainable, and dignified Indonesia towards the Golden Indonesia 2045," added Pungkas.

Meanwhile, Prof. Christopher Marquis, Professor at the University of Cambridge, put forward his argument that B Corp is the most impactful business initiative.

"After a career and teaching at various leading institutions in the world, including Harvard University and the University of Cambridge, I was once asked about the most impactful business initiative. My answer has always been the B Corp movement. At that time, most people didn't even know what B Corp was. What I always explained and the reason why I continue to study and write about this topic, is that B Corp offers a completely different perspective on our overall economic system, while providing a set of tools to realize that change. One of them is the B Impact Assessment which helps companies measure and improve their impact. In addition, B Corp also builds a community where companies connect, learn, and grow together. In the end, the impact produced is much greater than if each company moves on its own," said Prof. Christopher Marquis.

Bart Houlahan, Board Member and Co-Founder of B Lab, added that the B Corp movement is a collective effort to drive the transformation of the global economic system.

"B Corp is not really about the certification. Certification is only a milestone that shows the company's current position, while the main goal is to build a commitment to continue to grow and make continuous improvements. Various challenges that we face, ranging from climate change to social inequality, cannot be solved by one company alone. Therefore, the B Corp movement encourages companies to learn from each other, collaborate, and together continue to improve the standard of responsible business practices. When companies work together and implement these principles in every aspect of their operations, that is when we can create a real and sustainable impact for society, communities, and the environment," said Bart.

In the panel discussion session, Shinta W. Kamdani, Chairwoman of APINDO, conveyed that sustainable business practices are now one of the important factors in improving Indonesia's competitiveness.

"Sustainability is no longer just a commitment, but has become part of the business strategy that determines the company's competitiveness. Collaboration between the government, the business world, and various stakeholders is an important foundation for accelerating the adoption of responsible business practices while encouraging inclusive and sustainable economic growth," said Shinta.

As part of the global B Corp community, Danone Indonesia continues to integrate sustainability principles into the entire value chain of the company through the Danone Impact Journey, Danone's global sustainability strategy that focuses on three main pillars, namely Health, Nature, and People & Communities. This commitment is realized through various concrete initiatives.

On the Health pillar, Danone Indonesia is committed to bringing health through food to as many people as possible by providing nutritious food and beverage products supported by science-based research and innovation. This commitment is also realized through various education programs regarding balanced nutrition, healthy hydration, and nutrient fulfillment at every stage of life, including supporting the nutritional fulfillment of mothers and children in the First 1,000 Days of Life (1000 HPK), stunting prevention, and encouraging the adoption of healthy diets through campaigns such as Isi Piringku.

On the Nature pillar, Danone Indonesia strives to protect and restore natural resources through sustainable water resource management, conservation of water catchment areas, forest and land rehabilitation, and the implementation of more efficient operational practices in energy use and carbon emission reduction. The company also continues to strengthen the implementation of the circular economy through the #WisePlastic movement by building an ecosystem for collecting and recycling packaging waste together with the government, business actors, community organizations, and waste management partners, while encouraging packaging innovations that are increasingly easy to recycle and increase the use of recycled materials in product packaging.

Meanwhile, on the People & Communities pillar, Danone Indonesia believes that sustainable business must provide positive social impact for all stakeholders in its supply chain. This commitment is realized through family involvement in AQUA micro distribution through AQUA Home Service which is able to contribute to achieving up to 10 percent of volume and at the same time adding family income, empowering local farmers to implement regenerative farming practices, strengthening the capacity of MSMEs and circular economy actors such as waste banks and recycling actors, as well as various empowerment programs for communities around the company's operational areas.

In the workplace, Danone Indonesia also continues to create an inclusive workplace by encouraging diversity, equality, talent development, health and safety at work, and employee welfare as part of the company's culture.

This approach is what led Danone Indonesia to become the first FMCG Company to receive B Corp certification since 2018, with a B Impact Score of 98.6, surpassing the minimum threshold of 80 points for certification, and a reminder that the company will continue to improve its sustainability standards over time.

Laurent Boissier, CEO of Danone Indonesia, said that for Danone Indonesia, B Corp certification is not the end goal, but a commitment to continue to create a positive impact through every aspect of the company's business.

"For Danone Indonesia, becoming a B Corp means ensuring that every business decision we make benefits not only the company, but also society and the environment. Through the Danone Impact Journey, we continue to integrate sustainability into the entire value chain, from providing nutritious products, conserving water resources, accelerating the circular economy through post-consumer packaging management, to empowering farmers, partners, and local communities. We believe that sustainability challenges cannot be solved alone. Therefore, we hope that this forum can strengthen cross-sector collaboration and inspire more and more companies to make business a force that brings positive change to Indonesia," concluded Laurent.

Through the implementation of the Asia B Corp Summit 2026 Site Visit, Danone Indonesia together with B Lab and B Market Builder Indonesia hopes that collaboration between the government, business, academia, and society will be stronger in encouraging transformation towards a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable economic system, in line with the achievement of Indonesia's SDGs targets.