Our Vision

“Doing what is right” is the premise of our business philosophy, the Premier Way. We recognise that we have a responsibility to care for and protect our people, our planet, and the communities in which we operate, minimising the potential impact our activities may have and enhancing our competitiveness by building a sustainable business. Premier has a proud history of building iconic brands that deliver quality, affordable products that make a real difference in the lives of its consumers, and of serving the communities in which it operates. Our many corporate social responsibility programmes and our mission of growing together has been a strategic focus. We participate in several Corporate Social Investment projects, assisting people in need, through the provision and distribution of our various products. Climate change is a pressing reality, and food security and affordability are at increasing risk from the effects of severe climate change as the availability, affordability and quality of raw materials are impacted globally. We have responded by committing to significantly reduce our environmental footprint by prioritising the reduction of energy, water and waste, whilst remaining focused on  delivering quality products and contributing to society’s need for food security, nutrition and dignity.

In line with this philosophy, we have a defined sustainability vision which is: “Earning the right to operate in our communities by being mindful of our responsibility to society and the planet”. To support this vision, we have developed a sustainability strategy which hinges on four interconnected pillars: Our People, Our Products, Our Planet and Our Communities, with the intention of delivering quality products to our consumers, contributing to improved access to nutrition and sanitary protection in communities that need it most, whilst making a meaningful difference to stakeholders in society.

Each of the pillars is aligned to several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which guide our decison making and assist us in making an  impact. 

Providing food security is a priority to ensure that enough safe and nutritious food choices are available

Providing learning opportunities for all through an ongoing focus on skills and leadership development, mentorship and coaching. Through our Lil-lets products we support girls remaining in education

We work to end all forms of discrimination against women and girls, ensuring equal opportunities in the workplace and through our Lil-lets products, we promote gender equality

We are working to increase water use efficiency and where possible, increase re-use and recycling rates across our operations

We are developing an alternative energy strategy that will increase the share of renewable energy in our supply mix and have implemented measures to improve energy efficiency

We promote full and productive employment that is fair for all, in a safe and secure working environment, and take a stance to eradicate forced/child labour

We empower and promote inclusivity irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religious, economic or other status. Premier is a B-BBEE Level 4 contributor

We continue to implement measures to address food waste in production as well as along the supply chain through initiatives that prevent, reduce or recycle. We adhere to sustainable sourcing policies for ingredients

We strive to reduce our impact on climate change and also mitigate the impact of climate change on our operations through strengthening our resilience and adaptive capacity

Through our extensive CSI activities, we partner with local communities and NGOs to support the implementation of the UN SDGs through sharing of knowledge, financial resources and product donations

These four pillars and their strategic  focus areas are outlined below:

• Continued investment in skills development with a focus on:
  • Compliance training
  • Critical and scarce skills development
  • Leadership development
  • Supervisory and junior management development
• Proactive on-the-job training focusing on functional competence for all operators and coaching for performance improvement

• To provide a safe and secure working environment for all our employees, we focus on a variety of development, communication and compliance aspects

• To promote diversity and inclusiveness within our business:
  • We ensure that all our policies and practices are fair, compliant and acceptable
  • We encourage inclusion and diversity to optimise the value added by teams that consist of diversity in gender, race, age, experience and skills

• To promote healthier lifestyles amongst all our employees

• To ensure all products produced in our facilities and marketed under our brands do no harm or place employees and/or consumers at risk by:
  • Compliance certification /accreditations /regulations including on-pack claims, Vegan, Halaal, Organic, etc where relevant
  • Transparency on ingredients for consumer protection and information
  • A commitment to quality
  • Ensure equity, inclusiveness and protection of personal information  in marketing communications

• To improve access to nutritional food products by providing consumers with a choice of products, available in diverse trade outlets at affordable price points, and fortified as per regulations
• To improve access to sanitary protection by providing consumers with a range of products, available in diverse trade outlets at affordable price points
• Constantly improve our product offering to meet evolving consumer needs

• Recognising that climate change is a global challenge in scale, urgency and complexity of action, we will work to:
  • Reduce the impact of our operations on climate change through the promotion of cleaner business practices
  • Strengthen our adaptation and resilience to climate change induced impacts on our operations, energy and raw material availability
  • Support a just transition to a net zero economy by continuing to create decent jobs and skills development

• To reduce the energy required to produce and distribute our products whilst continuing to grow our business by investing in improved and/or alternative energy sources

• We recognise that water is a scarce and vital resource in South Africa
• We will continue to pursue projects that reduce the amount of water used to produce our products and promote the use of waste and/or recycled water where required
• Educate our employees and communities on the need to be Water Wise

• We support a Reduce, Re-use and Recycle philosophy in our manufacturing facilities and offices

• To promote a more sustainable sourcing policy, not only in terms of ingredients and materials, but also factoring in human rights, gender, diversity and inclusion

• To promote healthy nutrition and health awareness amongst our consumers through on pack communication, food donations and other relevant outreach programmes in targeted communities
• We continuously strive to provide a choice of more nourishing products to add value to consumers’ lives

• We believe that the future of our country is dependent on access to and improved standards of education
• Through our brands, we will continue to support relevant initiatives that keep children at school and ensure that they benefit to the best of their abilities
• Through our bursaries, graduate internships and learnerships, we aim to assist and develop unemployed youth and people with disabilities

• We will endeavour to empower the people in our communities to grow themselves and their communities via relevant social investment initiatives and partnerships