Chiquita has been acknowledged as an industry leader in corporate responsibility performance and reporting. This recognition is largely the result of committed efforts to assure that our bananas are produced in a manner that is respectful to our employees and to our environment, and that we report this performance.

Shipping and logistics are essential components of the supply chain that transports Chiquita bananas and our other products to your neighborhood market, and our freight customers’ cargoes into Latin America from Europe and the United States. To efficiently ship three million tons of these cargoes, Chiquita and our subsidiary shipping company, Great White Fleet, Ltd., employ a diverse team of logistics professionals, who manage a substantial network of owned and leased logistics infrastructure, including ships, shipping containers, port and terminal operations, trucks and railroads. Chiquita logistics employees represent more than 20 nationalities. We embrace our responsibility to provide a work environment that fully conforms to our Core Values – Integrity, Respect, Opportunity and Responsibility.

Our efforts include:
* Since 1999, we have carried out structured, objective assessments of our performance against our Code of Conduct, which incorporates the Social Accountability 8000 international standard.
* We have also used internal, anonymous Climate Surveys to     gain further insight into how well our employees feel the group is living up to our Core Values and Code of Conduct.
* We recognize that our infrastructure has the potential to adversely impact our natural environment. Our Environmental Management System guides our environmental protection efforts through third-party audits, ongoing internal education and ISO 14001 certification to assure compliance with all relevant safety and environmental regulations.

We are pleased with our corporate responsibility efforts to date and are inspired by the challenges and work still ahead of us. Recognizing that our group’s corporate responsibility performance is the result of the commitment and practice of individuals, we will continue striving to involve all our employees and partners in forming and implementing our policies and practices.

Waheed Zaman
Senior Vice President
Global Supply Chain Operations