At Chiquita, Corporate Social Responsibility is an important part of our global business strategy. We strive to operate in a socially responsible manner everywhere we do business, while fairly balancing the needs and concerns of our various stakeholders—all those who impact, are impacted by, or have a legitimate interest in our actions and performance.

A large part of our social responsibility efforts involve how we interact with our employees and stakeholders throughout the world. Our work practices, our approach to labor relations and our corporate culture all come into play on a daily basis.

More than a decade ago, we adopted the Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000) labor rights standard developed by Social Accountability International (SAI), which has been proven to be a very effective tool for measuring and improving our practices to better serve the communities in which we live and work.

SA8000 provides standards based on national laws, international human rights norms and the conventions of the International Labor Organization. Management system requirements ensure that these standards are consistently implemented over time, and independent audits and certification help measure progress and identify areas for improvement.