Founded in 1870, Chiquita is a leading international producer, marketer, and distributor of bananas, other tropical fruits such as pineapples and avocadoes, as well as salads. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Chiquita employs more than 21,000 people on six continents. Chiquita's early history (when it was named the United Fruit Company) was better known as an aggressive and exploitative multinational that treated some of the Central American countries in which it operated as °banana republics: However, Chiquita's recent efforts to be a socially responsible firm have truly made it stand out among industry peers. Chiquita is committed to conducting business ethically-not only in compliance with the letter and spirit of the law, but also as an industry leader in doing the right things to do. In Chiquita's core product markets, it views its mission is 'to help the world's consumers broaden mindsets about nutrition and bring healthy, nutritious, and convenient foods that taste good and improve people's lives' Joining the army to fight obesity, Chiquita in 2011 became a strategic partner with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promote the new MyPlate dietary guidelines. A large part of Chiquita's corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts involves how it treats employees and stakeholders around the world. More than a decade ago, Chiquita adopted the Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000) labor rights standard developed by Social Accountability International (SAI). SA8000 prohibits the use of child labor and forced labor, monitors health and safety measures, and promotes appropriate working hours and fair compensation. One crucial component of SA8000 is to reach a global agreement with local and international foodworkers' unions. On the environmental dimension, Chiquita has been working with Rainforest Alliance since 1992. By 2000, 100% of the plantations owned by Chiquita were certified by Rainforest Alliance as engaging in sustainable farming practices. In 2011, in response to the demands made by a green group called ForestEthics, Chiquita agreed not to buy fuel made from Canadian tar sands. Extracting oil from tar sands is energyintensive and dirty. Environmentalists worked vigorously to block a pipeline-Keystone-which would carry such oil from Canada to the United States.
However, not all is rosy for Chiquita's CSR efforts. Its agreement not to buy fuel made from Canadian tar sands provoked a pro-business lobby in Canada called EthicalOil.org to launch a boycott of Chiquita, with mounting losses (although Chiquita would not quantify such losses). Its work with SA8000 and Rainforest Alliances adds to its cost-think about all the expenses involved in the hiring of so many people to engage in certification, auditing, and compliance. Neither Dole nor Del Monte, its two main rivals, bothers to follow Chiquita to sign a global union agreement, leaving Chiquita to be the high-cost (and less pricecompetitive) producer. What has Chiquita received in return for all its good work? Big retailers increasingly dump Chiquita and place orders with Dole, Del Monte, and other smaller plantations whose environmental practices may not be as sustainable and whose labor practices may not be as worker-friendly as Chiquita. Driven by one of its core values, integrity (the other three are respect, opportunity, and responsibility), Chiquita in 2003 became the only American company to voluntarily admit to the US Department of Justice that it had paid protection money to Colombian paramilitary militia that surrounded its plantations. The payoff for such honesty was a series of American and Colombian lawsuits against it. Chiquita's conspicuous lack of reward for its good deeds is frustrating. Even the head of the international foodworkers' union was sympathetic, saying, °It's not sustainable for any company in a competitive sector to make progress and gain no recognition for it:
Case Discussion Questions : ON ETHICS: Why has Chiquita chosen to be proactive along a number of CSR dimensions?