Caribbean Perspectives
GRACE KENNEDY GETS ON TRACK WITH THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
The Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation
by Wendy J. Singh
GraceKennedy Limited is recognized as the largest and most diversified food company operating in the Caribbean and identifies itself as one of the region’s largest conglomerates with several diversified companies in the Caribbean, Europe and North America.
With an essentially Jamaica First ethos, the company is proud of its heritage. Established in Jamaica in 1922 by founders John J. Grace and Fred W. Kennedy, the values of ‘Honesty, Integrity and Trust’, have prevailed to create a brand that is respected and well-regraded for quality and reliability in the Banking & Finance and Food & Manufacturing sectors.
More than half of food products sold under the GraceKennedy brand are produced by five Jamaica-based companies Grace Agro-Processor Division, Grace Food Processors Canning Division, National Processors (NALPRO), Grace Food Processors and Dairy Industries Jamaica Limited, a joint venture between GraceKennedy and Fonterra, New Zealand.
The corporation has progressively expanded to acquire business in the financial sector with several businesses in banking, finance, remittances and insurance.
Today the organisation is headed by Don Wehby C.D., Group Chief Executive Officer who leads a team of business leaders from 60 subsidiaries and associated companies across the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, North and Central America. According to Caribbean Value Investor, (a media company which promotes and enables value investing in the Caribbean), the GraceKennedy Group ranked 7th out of the top 10 in 2018 on the Jamaica Stock Exchange with a market capitalization in excess of USD $344 billion. The company is a “public company” listed on the stock exchanges of Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago.
Despite its great profit margins and high levels of investor returns, Wehby is clear that the company’s employees are its most valuable assets. GraceKennedy employees were
the first to benefit from the success of the company when in 1925, they became the first shareholders. He stresses the importance of the work environment and its role in high levels of commitment and productivity. The company states that it promotes the “Grace We Care” philosophy by providing a healthy and safe working environment conducive to staff wellbeing and “an atmosphere of cooperation and harmony in the workplace.”
Consistent with national aims in the areas of responsible governance and corporate responsibility, GraceKennedy ploughs back into its host communities wherever it operates through a number of social initiatives aimed at generating sustainability and building entrepreneurial capacity.
Jamaica participated at the UN High-Level Political Forum in New York in June 2018 where it presented its Voluntary National Review report of progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Jamaican delegation presented a positive report showing a clear alignment of the country’s Vision 2030 National Development Plan with the 17 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The UN major objectives of the SDGs, which were adopted by 193 countries in 2015, are to “end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind”
The 2030 Agenda requires countries to ensure that all government expenditure contributes to advancing the SDGs, including private sector investment. According to Bruno Pouezat, UN Resident Coordinator in Jamaica, “everyone must understand that reaching the SDGs depends first and foremost on effective use of the state budget…Jamaica must ensure that all of government expenditure is understood, and accounted for, as contributing to the SDGs – as does private sector investment, whether foreign (5.6% of GDP in 2016) or indeed domestic (remittances alone amount to 17% of GDP). The objective must be for all resources available nationally to target explicitly the national development priorities.”(UNDP)
One way in which the GraceKennedy Group is striving to advance the SDGs, is through its Foundation, The Grace and Staff Community Development Foundation (GSCDF), which was launched in 1982 with a grant of 500,000.00 JMD provided by its parent company, initially focused on community development, education and culture.
According to Don Wehby, GraceKennedy, as a good corporate citizen, is committed to giving back to communities where it operates. Employees provide voluntary services in their communities on an individual basis or through the Foundation. Key focus areas are education, health, community outreach and the safety and protection of the environment.
Ms. Tanketa Chance-Wilson who is the General Manager of the Foundation explained that apart from the endowment made by the company to the Foundation, the staff gives back to the community through various means. They make financial contributions, which are matched two to one by the company, and do voluntary work in communities where the company has its local subsidiaries in areas such as downtown Barbican, Majestic Gardens, Spanish Town and in rural Westmoreland.
Ms. Chance-Wilson also addressed the policies of the Foundation which are directly aligned with five of the 17 SDGs: Goal 1 no poverty, Goal 4 Quality Education, Goal
5 Gender Equality, Goal 13 Climate Action and Goal 17 Partnerships for the Goals:
No Poverty
Grace & Staff partnered with the Scientific Research Council and small and medium enterprises’ financial institutions to host soap making and personal care products workshops, in an effort to provide skill training for residents, and ultimately create enterprise. The participants received certification, business exposure and materials to fast-track their business initiatives.
Gender Equality
The Foundation partnered with the British Council in Jamaica to implement a mentorship programme in schools for boys in grades 7 – 9. The objectives included ensuring regular attendance and keeping the young students mentally engaged to consistently improve their opportunities in life. Progressively, the programme will reach a bigger catchment of children cross all three counties. Male mentors are drawn from corporate
Jamaica, schools, the creative industry and faith-based institutions.
Quality Education
The Foundation is of the firm belief that education is a tool for community development. Scholarships were therefore provided for 525 high school and tertiary students based on their financial needs, as well as for those “at risk” of dropping out of school or becoming involved in gang activity from under-served communities. Staff offers one-on-one teaching/mentoring and are usually assisted by past scholarship beneficiaries. They engage stakeholders in communities –youth, NGOs and others, and establish partnerships to set up homework centres for students to be engaged productively.
Partnership for the Goals & Climate Action
Over 100 participants benefitted from summer camp programmes during 2018 through partnerships with the Scientific Research Council, Women in Maritime Caribbean and the Jamaica Social Investment Fund. Programmes covered the introduction to computers and catered for adults in the under-served community of Majestic Gardens. Residents from downtown Kingston participated in the underwater robotic programmes. Each camp covered areas in climate change and environmental protection of Kingston Harbour.
