Dinant Recruits Professional Social Worker In The Aguan
Company Seeking Community's Help to Launch Aguan Grievance Mechanism
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, June 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Corporacion Dinant has recruited a professional social worker to be based within the local communities of the Aguan near the company's African Palm plantations and extraction mill. The appointment is part of Dinant's program of regional Community Grievance Mechanisms, designed in collaboration with local people to provide simple, safe and reliable ways of communicating with the company.
Company spokesman Roger Pineda said, "Following the appointment of professional social workers in Comayagua, Lean and San Pedro Sula, and the successful launches there of regional Community Grievance Mechanisms, we are now expanding our community engagement in the Aguan. I am delighted we have appointed an experienced and highly qualified individual who will be based in the Aguan, ensuring local people play a full part in establishing a Community Grievance Mechanism that meets the specific needs of the Aguan."
Dinant has excellent relationships with most of the communities in which we live and work. However, like all organizations, we do not always get everything right. We are working hard to be better at listening to the concerns of local people and finding practical solutions. That's why Dinant's region-specific Grievance Mechanisms have been established in consultation with local people and are simple to use. Anyone can access the Community Grievance Mechanisms on Dinant's website, or via a free dedicated telephone hotline, or by meeting Dinant's professional social workers. "People impacted by our operations can talk to us, personally or anonymously, in ways that are convenient to them. Our professional social workers are based at the heart of local communities, ensuring that every voice is heard," Mr. Pineda continued.
Dinant's regional Grievance Mechanisms are the culmination of many months' hard work. Under the guidance of the IFC and social sector consultants, Dinant has undertaken extensive social-environmental risk assessments and mitigation measures to understand and resolve issues affecting local people.
About Corporacion Dinant
Dinant is a family-owned consumer products manufacturer founded in Honduras in 1960 by Miguel Facusse Barjum. Its products are sold throughout Central America and the Dominican Republic, and exported to global markets. Dinant employs 8,000 people, supports over 22,000 livelihoods, generates millions of US dollars in exports for the Honduran economy, and contributes significantly to all communities in which it operates.
As part of its adherence to the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, Dinant has removed all firearms from security men and women at its plantations, extraction mills and manufacturing plants. Dinant rigorously benchmarks its operations against stringent international standards regarding the economic, environmental and social impact of its African Palm oil business. All Dinant facilities in Honduras have been awarded ISO 14000 and OHSAS 18001 status as a mark of their progress in environmental management and occupational health & safety. Dinant is participating in an approach being suggested by the Consensus Building Institute, under the supervision of the IFC, to seek resolutions to ongoing problems in the Aguan.
CORPORATE RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
Roger Pineda, [email protected], +(504) 2239-8800, www.dinant.com
SOURCE Corporacion Dinant
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